Artists

Aimilia Balaska / Demetris Koilalou / Nicolas Lambouris / Bojan Mrđenović / Margarita Yoko Nikitaki / Emilio Pemjean / Kukka-Maria Rosenlund / Aristotle Roufanis / Maija Annikki Savolainen / Theodoros Zafeiropoulos

Any more odes? , the title of this exhibition, alludes to the Ode to Joy which was used as the connecting thread of all three Transeurope exhibitions in an attempt to resonate an open question. Indeed there is ambiguity in all the series presented by the ten participating artists in this exhibition, waiting to be explored by the viewer.

Space seems to be a predominant issue, but not necessarily in the restrictions of a classical take. How many worlds are inside a world, and how can one delineate the fictitious from the real constructions which are created; what do we define as property and most importantly how can such a heavily loaded notion be manifested on the image; how have we managed to transfigure our natural environment into an urban eco-system featuring rivers, gorges and hills made out of concrete; and in that setting how lonely have we come to feel?

Any more odes? The question repeats itself as the answer oscillates between family memories, the sense of loss, the notion of home. The presumably transparent images of the past become an excuse for digging out emotions and relations, while in other cases the memories are approached in a more conceptual way creating an interplay between the present and the past by touching upon archival material or signified objects and events. After all this is not an exhibition which celebrates one approach to photography.

There is not one ode here, but many: celebrating the risk to explore photography and experiment on the photographic process itself in its different stages or by focusing on specific elements that either constitute it unique or render the opportunity to the artist to hit his expressive target not through description but through appropriation, reconstruction interesting combinations and compositions. Do artists invite the viewer to approach their images in a critical manner? Are their images celebrating the photographic event itself? All the works instigate reflection. Some whisper to the viewer through subtle suggestions, others do sing in a loud voice odes which bring about social and political concerns. Under the unifying umbrella of a European program the different voices of this exhibition remain to be heard.

Alexandra Athanasiadou

With the support of

PhotoLab Athens | Brother & Brother reproductions | Coco-Mat | Coco-Mat Bike | Onassis Cultural Center | OPANDA