Yiannis Sakellis
visual artist
untitled,2017
Attikon exhibition center, Paphos, CY
untitled, 2017
site-specific
350 x 610 cm
for the exhibition "Weaving Europe, the world as meditation"
part of the official program of the European Capital of Culture PAFOS2017
curated by dr. Efi Kyprianidou
December 2017
Attikon exhibition center, Paphos, CY.
notes for the exhibition:
Being one of the oldest art forms in the world, this project refers to the art of weaving, its history and its semiotics. What can the historical language of weaving offer to modern visual art practices, like digital technology, new media and Internet art? Art History has neglected weaving, knitting and embroidery as well as other domestic forms of art, classifying them as feminine and not equal in value compared to the Fine Arts. This exhibition explores female labour and the role of women in the history of art. Comparing weaving to Plato’s political philosophy, the metaphor of “Weaving Europe” poses the issue of European identity and its construction and the need to examine the threads that “weave” Europe.
The project includes an exhibition of contemporary art by Cypriot and international artists whose work involves the use of new media and digital technologies. It also includes lectures and discussions, workshops about knitting as a form of therapy, film and documentary screenings and a journal publication.