Opening Vasilis Papageorgiou

01.03.2024, 20:00
Opening
Vasilis Papageorgiou. Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or
 

Reception:
Gerda Ridler, President of the Salzburger Kunstverein

Opening Words:
Mirela Baciak, Director of the Salzburger Kunstverein

Followed by drinks and snacks.

22:00-midnight
DJ Set by Alba Malika Belhadj Merzoug

The exhibition Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or invites us into a contemplation on the capitalist systems of pleasure, their role in the cyclical depletion of planetary resources, and the loop these create in relation to the need for rest and regeneration.

At its core, the exhibition navigates through two distinct discourses, as hinted at in its title. The tourism industry’s emblematic “sunseekers” — those who chase the warmth and follow the promise of endless pleasure under the sun, are juxtaposed with the idea of “dimming the sun,” which stems from the scientific discourse surrounding solar radiation management (SRM)—a geoengineering solution to cool the earth by artificially dimming the sun’s rays. Papageorgiou’s choice to punctuate the exhibition title with an additional “or” hints at a realm of possibilities beyond this dichotomy, suggesting an exploration of alternatives, or perhaps, an unresolved question into the future we are collectively authoring. It is in this speculative space that the exhibition finds its expression.

The exhibition operates with several evocative elements such as an array of metal sunbeds that host smaller sculptures such as copper-plated beach towels, a solitary flower, a drawer containing a newspaper proclaiming a “return to the stars,” among others. These sunbeds, in their deliberate composition, become the or-spaces where the light of leisure meets the shadow of tourism’s environmental impact, urging us to ponder our place between the aspiration of pleasure and the sustainability of our planet.

Credits: 

Curator: Mirela Baciak

Sound designer: Dimitris Prokos

Studio coordinator: Mariana Antzoulatou

Blacksmiths: Thanos Vasileiou & George Frantzoglou

Copper technician: Dimitris Philippakis

Marble technicians: Earth Marbles by Malevitis

Ceramicist: Daphne Leon

Thank you Olympia Tzortzi (Callirrhoë), Paola Bonino & Marta Barbieri (UNA Galleria)

The exhibition is commissioned and produced by Salzburger Kunstverein.