Greek Cypriot designer Eleni Kyriakou has rescued countless historical Greek laces, resulting in the creation of a collection that exceeds a thousand pieces
With an original event that pleasantly surprised the visitors of the National Archaeological Museum, the exhibition titled “Old Lace, New Life” opened yesterday (7/6) in its Garden.
Five young dancers, with movements inspired by the iconography of ancient vases, started from rooms 49 & 50 of the Collection of Vases on the 1st floor of the Museum, to end up in the Garden, where a small part of the impressive lace collection of the designer Eleni is exhibited Kyriakou – the basis of her creations – in “conversation” with ancient works.
At the performance event, artists and the public found themselves “on the move” in a march from the halls to the atrium of the museum, where the designer’s clothes were presented uniquely by the dancers Despina Lagoudakis, Sevasti Zafiiras, Katerina Magerakis, Iliana Yfanti and Violeta Damanakis.
Vassilis Goritsas, Elena Leoni, Maria Malafi and Nikos Marziokas dressed the girls’ movements musically.
The Greek-Cypriot designer Eleni Kyriakou, who was born in London and has been living and working in Athens for the last 10 years, has rescued countless historical Greek laces, resulting in the creation of a collection that exceeds a thousand pieces. He has used selected pieces to create a collection of women’s clothing, reusing (upcycling) material elements of the Greek heritage.
“The exhibition at the National Archaeological Museum concerns two elements. One is the influence from antiquity and the other is the idea of ​​recycling. Through this idea, we find on the one hand a new way to respect these works again, which I consider works of art, and on the other hand a new use that is not unrelated to the modern era”, said Eleni Kyriakou to APE-MPE, shortly before from the start of the event.
But how was the idea for such an exhibition and event born? “In February I was informed that a lady who had a lace exhibition in mind wanted to see me. At first I was a bit wary. Nevertheless, when we made the appointment, I saw a young girl, a young designer, with extremely fine taste, with a very great love for what she does and with nice ideas. I was initially captivated by the personality itself rather than the works. So little by little I went in and saw her work. I really liked this perspective that I hadn’t realized, how timeless motifs and designs from antiquity – which you find in vases, statues and sculptural monuments, such as the sarcophagus with the erotides in the Museum Garden and many others – have pass into the art of fabric and clothing throughout time. It is a happy juncture that through Eleni’s creations we were able to reflect on all this timelessness and to look into the matter further”, the General Director of EAM, Dr. Anna-Vasiliki Karapanagiotou, told APE-MPE.
“At the same time, I liked the theme of reusing the laces that the designer has collected and especially how she adapts them to her own creations. So I decided at the same time to do this pioneering action for EAM”, he added about yesterday’s event held in conjunction with World Environment Day, precisely to emphasize the relationship between the collection and sustainability in art.
The press conference was also attended by Ioanna Kaplani, archaeologist/social anthropologist, who has studied the impact of Greek culture on folk art and has written the captions and texts of the exhibition. “The simplest form of lace which is the net, the net, already exists since the Neolithic era, while terms and terminologies in the texts of ancient authors refer to fabrics and costume elements that speak of this art of lace. The ‘kekryphalos’ that Homer says, or a sack, was a type of golden net that women used to collect their hair”, he notes in APE-MPE about the beginnings of lace, which due to their fragility few survive today us. “The only samples come from Egypt, as due to the dryness of the soil some small pieces from the 5th to 4th centuries have been preserved. BC. Also some small parts have been found in Coptic fabrics of the 5th to 7th century. AD and some pieces of lace made from bone fragments in the Fayoum (4th to 5th century AD)”, informs Ms. Kaplani.
Eleni Kyriakou, who has been in the fashion industry since 2007, has been designing clothes since 2011. She has participated in the Athens and Paris Fashion Weeks, and is the designer of the current costume of the Olympic Flame Touching Ceremonies. As he explains, “catwalks don’t serve me. In an exhibition, you can enjoy a work of art for as long as you want, while on a catwalk you have 20 seconds! This doesn’t fit with my job. In recent years I have had my own way of presenting fashion collections: I work with other artists, because a dancer is an artist, another level of art on top of mine, which for me is very exciting”, emphasizes the designer on the occasion of the event that we hope it will be repeated.
The exhibition in the garden of the Museum operates with free admission until August 31, 2023. At the same time, visitors can virtually tour the digital exhibition in the video found on the EAM website (https://www.namuseum.gr/event/ekthesi- ston-kipo-toy-moyseioy-amp-psifiaki-ekthesi-xechasmenes-danteles-nea-pnoi/ ), where objects from the museum’s permanent collections are digitally juxtaposed with lace from the collection of Eleni Kyriakou.
Source :Skai
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