“Xirómero/Dryland” Pavillion of Greece at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, powered by Onassis Culture

Objects, sounds, images: how does human experience register in the ecosystem of the Greek feast? The interdisciplinary collective work titled “Xirómero/Dryland” by Thanasis Deligiannis, Elia Kalogianni, Yorgos Kyvernitis, Yannis Mihalopoulos, Fotini Papachristopoulou, Fotis Sagonas, and Kostas Chaikalis, as well as curator Panos Giannikopoulos, travels at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia at Pavilion of Greece, powered by Onassis Culture.

Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

Drawing upon the experience of the panighíria -local festivals- of mainland Greece, Thessaly and the area of Xirómero, “Xirómero/Dryland”, investigates the experience of a village festival by following its course from the village square all the way to its outskirts, and to the surrounding land. It consists of a piece of agricultural irrigation equipment which synchronizes the sound, video and lighting environments that make up the installation in real time. “Xirómero/Dryland” is a hybrid installation that embarks on a visual examination of the human experience within the ecosystem suggested by the Greek feast, from the center of a rural settlement to the ridges of the surrounding agricultural landscape. Utilizing tools and means from various artistic fields, a usable watering machine are transferred to the Greek Pavilion space as a central part of a spatial composition further comprised of a video installation, sound environments, lighting fixtures, and the element of water.

*Xirómero [ksirˈomero], a historic area of Aetolia-Acarnania, is known for its festivals. Today, it comprises one of the municipalities of the regional unit of Western Greece.

Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

The research for the project “Xirómero/Dryland,” was realized in the framework of the “Margaroni Residency” in June 2022 and under a commission by Onassis Culture in their capacity as Onassis Residents. In the given framework, they assembled an artistic team with which they worked collectively. The research, along with the residency's various musical, visual, and scenic activities, became the raw material for developing the “Dryland” proposal, represents Greece at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia.

The artistic team consists of Thanasis Deligiannis, Elia Kalogianni, Yorgos Kyvernitis, Yannis Mihalopoulos, Fotini Papachristopoulou, Fotis Sagonas, and Kostas Chaikalis, as well as curator Panos Giannikopoulos.

The official participation of Greece in the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia was realized under the funding of the Ministry of Culture and with ΕΜΣΤ | National Museum of Contemporary, Athens, as the commissioner of Greece’s national participation and responsible for organizing the Greek Pavilion.

Opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 11 am - 7 pm (from 20 April to 30 September) & 10 am - 6 pm (from 1 October to 24 November).

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Photo: Pinelopi Gerasimou

The 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, titled "Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere," curated by Adriano Pedrosa, will be open from April 20th to November 24th at the Giardini and Arsenale venues. Discover more here.

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