EXHIBITIONS

Ambiguous bodies - timeless interpretations – Part Β’

Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki (Warehouse B1, port area)
January 27 - March 24, 2018

From the vague representations of antiquity and up to present time, gender, body and its ambiguous or clarified identity, remain fundamental issues, constantly revolving their interpretive and sociological strategies.

Using as an inspirational foundation the Cypriot prehistoric figurines, and in particular the notable lack of clarity regarding their gender indications, artists from Cyprus and Greece, assuming the role of “creative archaeologists”- are invited to creatively approach this major interpretive issue, which today employs to a large extent, post-cultural theory: gender, the body and its sex, the ambiguity (or refusal) of gender, as it has been shaped and formed for centuries. The artists are invited to construct (or de-construct) stereotypes, to shape their own fertile arguments on controversial gender identities.

Participating artists:

Yiannis Avramides, John Bardakos, Evangelia Basdeki, Lizzie Calligas, Kyriacos Cabadakis, Kostis Fokas, Elina Ioannou, Niki Kanagini, Anneta Kapon, Akis Karanos, Maria Lianou, Virginia Mastrogiannaki, Natasha Papadopoulou, Michalis Papamichael, Charalambos Sergiou, Vaso Hadjoulli Sergiou, Panicos Tembriotis

Glitch Artists Collective (onlineweb project)

Alexandros Plomaritis (opening performance, 27/01/2018)

Hector Mavridis – Anat Pick – Costis Drygianakis (closing performance 24/03/2018)

Curator: Areti Leopoulou, Art historian - curator CACT/SMCA

Co- production:
- NeMe Arts Center, Limassol (20 May-3 June, 2017, Part A of the exhibition)
- Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki - State Museum of Contemporary Art (Part B of the exhibition)

Coordination in Cyprus: NeMe | Coordination in Greece: CACT

~~~ PARALLE EVENTS ~~~

My Name Is Janez Janša is a 2012 documentary film about three contemporary artists, one of them the film director, who in 2007 all changed their name to that of Janez Janša, the then Prime Minister of Slovenia.

Signified as an artistic gesture this particular name change provoked a wide range of interpretations in art circles in Slovenia and abroad as well as among journalists and the general public. From banter to conspiracy. In the documentary individuals, artists and academics from all over the world share their thoughts about the meaning and purpose of one’s name from both private and public perspectives. Reasons for changing one's name are explored as the film draws references from history, popular culture and individual experiences.

In Slovenia the film has been labelled as pornographic and as degenerate artby some of the press close to the government. On the other hand, the director of Slovenian Film Centre in his analysis said that the film is not to be judged by politicians, but by film critics and the audience.

http://www.mynameisjanezjansa.com/