PRESENTATION: Weaving the Future III (Tirana), Part I
The group exhibition “Weaving the Future III (Tirana)”, is on view at the exhibition space of COD (Center for Openness and Dialogue) in Tirana. The series of the exhibition “’Weaving the Future” (2019-ongoing) is a project-work in progress and focuses on feminine nature and creativity. The 35 women artist that participate in the third Part of the exhibition “Weaving the Future”, are using different means of expression such as: painting, sculpture, installations, photos, video and performance, denaturing traditional methods and techniques such as: embroidery, loom, knitting, sewing, wool, canvas, yarn and fabric, with a new way, mutating and transforming them into contemporary sculptures, paintings and installations.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Artists Archive
Efi Michalarou, the curator of the exhibition, makes us a guided Tour (in three parts) in the exhibition “Weaving the Future III (Tirana). Entering the main hall of COD (Center for Openness and Dialogue) the first work you see is by Maro Fasouli. In her work the artist is using traditional textiles, she cuts them, paints them adds glue, hairspray or lacquer to create artworks that look like flags or banners to remind us the victories of women over the years and their manual labor at home that played an important role in the economic development of the family. On your left Dimitra Chanioti embroiders newspapers with red thread to send us multiple messages, in this case after 1.5 years of difficulty and lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic her messages are only positive, such as happiness or welfare. On your right the artwork by Annita Argiroiliopoulou, gives a political dimension, emphasizing the role of women in the War especially the Greek Civil War of 1946-1949 that is one of the greatest Wounds in Postwar History. Entering the room on your right we meet a five-meter fence where Artemis Potamianou makes a comment on the life of the women in countries where freedom is still a big dream, while on the opposite wall is projected the video that Mary Zygouri created in 2018 for the OSTEND Trienale, curated by Jan Fabre. In the video Mary Zygouri unites women from Ostend, the northernmost tip of and of the southernmost which is Crete with a common embroidery. A commentary on today’s reality is the work of Eleftheria Stoikou who re-composes the well-known novel “War & Peace” by Leo Tolstoy, leafing through the book, where she adds red threads to the pages that play an important role for her, while Maro Michalakakos through her red velvet, all these years tells stories like the work ‘’peau de serpent’’ that is shown in the exhibition. Aikaterini Kanakaki, the younger participating artist just got her Masters from Tate Modern in London, after her grandmother’s death, negotiates the relationship of life-death- metempsychosis relationship, adorning a sceleton with flowers. Right across Marigo Kassi presents post modern semen using rice paper, paint, threads and brushes. The two photos are from a 4-hour performance by Evangelia Basdekis, the artist embroiders limbs of her body wanting to convey in a very intense way, social and political messages, such as torture in prisons, suicides of women and all human suffering (a video of her performance is shown in the hall)…
Participating Artists: Artemis Alcalay, Annita Argiroiliopoulou, Ada Anastasea, Evangelia Basdekis, Vicky Betsou, Dimitra Chanioti, Thalia Chioti, Martha Dimitropoulou, Maro Fasouli, Voula Ferentinou, Efi Fouriki, Penny Geka, Kristi Grigoriou, Aikaterini Kanakaki, Marigo Kassi, Maria-Marika Koenig, Eleni Kotsoni, Beskida Kraja, Evdokia Kyrkou, Maria Lagou, Maro Michalakakos, Ioanna Myrka, Penelope’s Web, Margarita Petrova, Spiridoula Politi, Artemis Potamianou, Katerina Ribatsiou, Ifigenia Sdoukou, Fani Sofologi, Eleftheria Stoikou, Theodora Tsiatsiou, Vicky Vassiliou, Grigoria Vryttia, Betty Zerva, Maria Zygomala, Mary Zygouri.
Photo: Maro Fasouli, Untitled, 2020, Fabric, spray, pastel, thread, cane, 228 Χ 294 cm, © Maro Fasouli, Exhibition view COD-Tirana, Photo: Dimitris Lempesis
Info: Curator: Efi Michalarou, COD (Center for Openness and Dialogue), Prime Minister’s Office, Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit 1, Tirana, Albania, Duration: 7-31/10/2021, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-14:00 & 17:30-20:30, Sat 17:30-20:30, http://cod.al
Right: Maro Michalakakos, peau de serpent, Velvet shaved with surgical tools, 120 Χ 140 cm, © & Courtesy the artist
With the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports
With the auspices of the Greek Embassy in Albania
