Installation view Soil Horizon / Εδαφικός Ορίζοντας, KIRKI, Sifnos (2024) | Photo: Miranda Papadopoulou
The group exhibition Soil Horizon / Εδαφικός Ορίζοντας with Rindon Johnson unpacks the relationship between land and food. It examines the fragility of land against the backdrop of overdevelopment and unprecedented tourism, and their causal correlation to food security, cyclical economy, ecological crisis and the long-term sustainability of local agriculture.
Nine artists from Costa Rica, Greece, Poland, UK, Ukraine and USA present multimedia and interdisciplinary work addressing universal concerns around the degradation of natural resources, labour practices, loss of cultural and natural heritage, water scarcity, and the socio-economic disparities that appear both in mono-economies and the interconnected global trade. Through installations, painting, performance, sculpture, video, and the use of organic materials such as bread, clay, skin and soil, the artists draw parallels between their local realities and those of the Cycladic archipelago, taking off from a hyper-local exploration of Sifnos’ economy and cultural history.
In this context, Soil Horizon / Εδαφικός Ορίζοντας takes place within the Old School of 1840, atop the hill of the fortified Kastro. It juxtaposes the iconography of Cycladic culture and the rugged surrounding landscape, nodding to both past and present, featuring agricultural and rural farming networks, plants, pots, portals and root systems. The mountain peaks of neighbouring islands peer across the horizon of endless blue; unified by sea and anchored by bedrock and deep soil. Soil Horizon / Εδαφικός Ορίζοντας exists within this ancient yet fragile landscape where mythic time and future memory collide.
The exhibition includes works by Rindon Johnson, Alma Berrow, Alicja Biała, Nikos Chandolias (FMDB), Ayla Dmyterko, Futurefarmers, Hypercomf, Pia Ortuño and Paky Vlassopoulou.
Soil Horizon / Εδαφικός Ορίζοντας is curated by Dominic Sylvia Lauren, Vaso Papadopoulou and Aristea Rellou, founders of the nomadic gallery KIRKI.
15 - 30 June, 2024
