Ammophila Vol. 4 Hopes and Promises, attempts to initiate a dialogue regarding hope, anticipation and the need for future imaginations are created within us as well as about the mechanics of making promises. It also refers to the relationship between hopes and promises as two containers of projections and comparisons of our needs which constantly feed each other. Among the cosmological myths mentioned about Elafonisos we find one that speaks about the refuge of Paris and the Helen (of Troy) in the sanctuary of Athena that existed on the island, as an intermediate station until their departure for Troy. After the destruction of Troy, Odysseus tried to enter the strait of Elafonisos but the wind (sent by Zeus) forbade it. The hopes of Odysseus to set sail and the promises of the couple in love are linked by a common place-point of reference for the two Homeric epics. A paradise on earth that today needs our collective care to stay intact. The idyllic landscape of Elafonisos in the summer season can be the perfect place to create expectations and adopt big goals in the midst of the optimism of the summer holidays and our proximity to nature. In addition, the exhibition takes place for the fourth year at the island’s only school, a place that is a shaping factor for the children’s future. Our collective visions and plans for a future with more love for the earth, for each other, and for what awaits us after the next sunrise can constitute our most personal coping mechanisms. The referentiallity of care can act as a paradigm to construct a future without crisis. The hopes and promises we receive and offer are linked to ideologies, scientific discoveries, emotions, collective and individual goals. They tend to be flexible and determine their variable elements according to the historical era, the environment and our capabilities.
What does it mean to hope and to envision? What does it mean to promise or to build your hopes on an edifice of promises?
How empowering can the regional character of artistic production be in a country like Greece, in a region of the country, far away from the promises of an urban cosmopolitan life?
With what promises do we fall in love, hoping that our own love will become a monument of the future?
How do we love the earth on which we hope and what do we promise to it in order to survive for those we love?
Ammophila Vol. 4 Hopes and Promises focuses on an organized effort to highlight sculptural forms that contain the element of changeability, the juxtaposition of natural and technical materials and a feeling of departure from classical structures without denying the possibilities of communicating with them. The “monuments” we envision are as fragile, ephemeral and imaginative as our hopes and promises.
Participating visual artists: Nikos Arvanitis, Margarita Bofiliou, Petros Efstathiadis, Dimitris Halatsis, George Kazazis, Danai Kotsaki, Emmyleah Liaros, Foteini Palpana, Malvina Panagiotidi, Rallou Panagiotou, Stefania Strouza
Participating writers: Panagiotis Barbagiannis, Sophie Charlotte Bombeck, Charis Kanellopoulou, Emmanouela Kyriakopoulou, Michalis Lykouris, Giannis Maniatis, Dana Papachristou, Lefteris Spyrou, Theophilos Tramboulis, Eva Vaslamatzi
Also, from July 23, the workshop entitled Waste-d Hopes: A ‘Place’ of Reconstruction will be held by Panagiotis Barbagiannis.
Waste-d Hopes: A ‘Place’ of Reconstruction
Workshop – Workshop for Children and Youth
Sand. Water. Sand dunes. Shells. Air. Trash. And people.
Little people who are artists by nature will utilize natural materials and co-shape a place for works of art. A place where these works will not just be within it, but the place itself will be the means of their creation.
With main focus on Land Art themed ‘Permanence and Deterioration around us’ but also the reuse and utilization of the waste that will result from the exhibition, the participants will be involved in experiential activities of building-deconstructing-rebuilding an ever-changing scenic installation entitled “Wasted Hopes”.
How does the place around me change when my surroundings change this place?
Ammophila Vol. 4 Hopes and Promises
Location: Elafonisos School, Elafonisos, Laconia
Opening: July 22, 19.30
Visiting hours: 22-31 July, 18.30-21.00
Workshop duration: 23 & 24 July, 19.30-21.00
Curated by ammophila
Organisation: Ammophila Non-Profit in collaboration with the Municipality of Elafonisos and the Region of Peloponnese
** Margarita Bofiliou, Petros Efstathiadis, Foteini Palpana, Malvina Panagiotidi, Stefania Strouza and Eva Vaslamatzi are SNF ARTWORKS Fellows.