Category: Exhibitions The artists’ run initiatives from Thessaloniki (GR), Margaris Foundation & les yper yper participate in this year’s Supermarket – Stockholm Independent Art Fair with the project “Happiness?”
Venue: Kulturhuset, Stockholm (find us on the 3rd floor!)
Dates: 15-17 February 2013
Artists: John Bicknell, les yper yper [Rania Emmanouilidou, John Karabelas, denial of service (h.Martis), Apostolos Rizos], Lia Psoma
Curator: Lydia Chatziiakovou
The project presented by the Margaris Foundation / les yper yper at this year’s Supermarket – Stockholm Independent Art Fair, responds to the fair’s theme “Happiness”, through a question on the nature of Happiness derived from the artistic practice and experience.
The question was inspired by a recent lecture given by well-known Greek writer Dimitris Dimitriadis. Having reached a certain age, the writer looks back at his life and recounts the love stories he experienced. He realizes that he had lived all of them a priori, through the letters he wrote to the objects of his desire. In those letters, the writer had the habit of prescribing in detail the upcoming date with his lover – something like instructions of use for the rendez-vous. The narration was so detailed and precise, so that at the time of writing, the author almost fully and satisfyingly experienced the meeting. As a result, the experience itself became reduced to a mere execution of the instructions he had already laid out beforehand. Years later, the author asks himself whether his experiences have actually been true; whether he actually lived his life.
Hence the question: is the life of every artist the Chronicle of a Death Foretold?
Does the artwork acquire so large a part in the artist’s life (not simply subsequent-interpretative, but mostly preordaining-prophetic), so that without it, the artist’s experiences are questioned?
What is the role of Happiness in this schema?
Is Happiness related to the enjoyment (jouissance) derived from the artwork’s production process? Or does the enjoyment reach its peak at the moment when the idea is born in the artist’s mind, so that production becomes the mere execution of that idea?
Looking at things from the opposite side, when does the artwork offer Happiness to the viewer? Obviously, a pleasant image is hardly enough to convey the feeling of satisfaction – in the same way that in love, pleasure often comes from the fantasy of its fulfillment.
Margaris Foundation / les yper yper is about the process of creativity, art production and exhibition making. We want to bring this process closer to the -mainly non-specialized- public through active involvement and to give artists the opportunity to exhibit outside -or perhaps in parallel- to the global art system we are all unavoidably part of. The Foundation is run by a multidisciplinary collective of artists, curators, designers, filmmakers etc. who strongly believe that art is a fun experience for everyone involved and who are willing to do anything, undertake all steps necessary towards the materialization of our ideas and projects – from the most creative to the most menial tasks. Our projects can be exhibitions, residencies, talks, workshops for artists or the public of all ages. We collaborate with artists, curators, collectors, institutions -public, private, alternative and established. We love broadening our horizons and expanding our practice.
http://www.margarisfoundation.blogspot.com
http://lesyperyper.com
Supermarket – Stockholm Independent Art Fair is one of the largest contemporary art events in Sweden. It is organized by artists and showcases non-profit, independent initiatives and artists’ run galleries from around the world. This year’s participations include 87 institutions from over 30 countries. The fair takes place at Kulturhuset, Stockholm’s largest exhibition center. Alongside the main participations, the fair also includes a rich parallel program of performances, lectures, talks and presentations. This year’s theme is “Happiness”.
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For more information and images please contact Lydia Chatziiakovou at lydia@artbox.gr