A flag burning in a simulated seascape, a staircase to… Heaven that no longer exists on the Castle wall, blooming forests in terrariums, animals that have disappeared but are digitally brought back to life, mushrooms that change day by day, sculptures that change colour, and sing with human – or non- human – voices, a World War II bunker that opened its doors to host a family’s story, synthetic jellyfish plucked from algorithmic dreams and a body of women who were lost on the lake, are just some of the projects we find in “Plásmata II: Ioannina”the exhibition set up with care and love by the Onassis Foundation Shelter in the city of Ioannina.

An experience that for three weeks (from June 16 to July 9, 2023) brings together technology, the city, nature and tradition, proposing new routes and symbiosis, expanding the dialogue between memory and the imaginary, the center and the periphery , the past and the future. “Plásmata II: Ioannina” invites us to wander through 29 different stations on a route along the border of the Castle and the lake, dominated by the 19 works of the exhibition, but also the stories that characterize 10 distinct, sometimes secret, landmarks of Ioannina. The exhibition is surrounded by a number of parallel activities such as concerts, educational programs, discussions, tours, for spectators of all ages, but also Movement Radio, the 24-hour internet radio station of Stegi that floods the city with music, all with free admission.

Plásmata were born from within the city itself

“Plásmata is not just an exhibition, I would say it is a public thank you from me and my team for what the city of Ioannina has given us. That is why we do not feel that we came but that we returned here. And we want to develop this relationship so that the city itself wants us to stay here” said the Culture Director of the Onassis Foundation and artistic director of the exhibition, Aphrodite Panagiotakou, who is originally from Ioannina, at the press conference before the opening of the exhibition. “I always wanted to do something here, an international level event. Because Ioannina has a dynamic that not only concerns its past but also its present. The idea was born in 2021 in collaboration with the former mayor of Ioannina, Moses Elisaf. The preparation of the exhibition, which lasted more than a year, was a nice adventure into which many people immediately plunged. I feel that the Stegi and Foundation team was reborn in Ioannina“, he added.

Referring to Stegi’s two previous exhibitions in Athens and the Field of Areos, she stated that “we do not want our presence in the public space to be seen as imposed or taken for granted and that’s why we thought of going somewhere else to move things. Ioannina welcomed us with open arms. For us it was a matter of principle to work with people here, there and for the needs of the exhibition people who live in the city were hired. We wanted to act as a “glue” between the locals and the artists.” Regarding Plásmata, he said that the condition was that the projects were born from within the city itself. “It was requested that the people of Ioannina recognize what business these works have here“, he pointed out.

“This exhibition is much better than the previous two” admitted the President of the Onassis Foundation, Antonis Papadimitriou. “The curatorial team did an excellent job. What impressed me is the appropriation of the space. In other words, we saw the landscape appropriating the works and the works the landscape, the works conversing with each other and with the city. Some of them were also presented in Athens. But here they look different,” he emphasized. As he said, “”Plásmata” – and as a listen only – remind us that at the center of the actions of the Onassis Foundation we always have the people. With them we create networks of cooperation and innovation».

The Regional Governor of Epirus, Alexandros Kahrimanis, and the Mayor of Ioannina, Dimitris Papageorgiou, spoke warmly about the exhibition in their greetings, noting that this important cultural proposal and its parallel events upgrade the image of the city and highlight the beauty of the lakefront, while at the same time are for Ioannina a new starting point for creation and inspiration. “Stegi and Plásmata open new paths for us which we will walk“, they underlined.

A series of events in public space

“Plásmata take their title from Ioannina because they have grown here. They speak of the deeply local and at the same time of the global. What we are watching is more of a series of events in the public space than an exhibition in the traditional way“, explains Prodromos Tsiavos, Director of Digital Development and Innovation of the Onassis Foundation, who is in charge of the exhibition during the press tour.

According to him, the report is structured in four sections which, however, are not strictly demarcated and communicate with each other. “The first part focuses mainly on the transformation part. The second is more introspective, the third deals with paradoxical entities and the communities and ecosystems they create, to arrive at the last where the metaphysical and magic converse with tradition“, reports Pr. Chiavos noting how “we see materials such as stone or water and the lake appearing with great intensity but also expressions of the human body, its fragility and its strength to inspire various works».

Artificial intelligence in dialogue with tradition

As explained by the curatorial team (Prodromos Tsiavos, Giorgos Tzirtzilakis and Dafni Dragona), Plásmata is an exhibition about the digital without being trapped in its form. “At one point of the wall there is an ivy. When we asked what will happen if the ivy leaves, they answered “the wall won’t exist either”. One supports the other. This is the dominant metaphor for how we approach technology in this exhibition. A symbiotic relationship that has within it concern, protection and love“, they explained.

The exhibition “opens” with the work “Transfiguration” by the collective Universal Everything, in which a gigantic figure in constant motion transforms before us, reminding us of the turmoil of human emotions. Immediately after we meet the Dionysian performance “#thehead | Zéte” by Panos Sklavenitis that engages with tradition, while at the same time utilizing artificial intelligence. True and fabricated narratives star in a collective celebration dominated by zoomorphic and phytomorphic disguises, as well as polyphonic singing.

Some of the works “happen” in front of you as you walk along the lakefront, and others invite you to discover them, such as Matthias Fritz’s living sculpture of various types of mushrooms hidden in the shelter of the old Ioannina Castle. But also the “MANA” of Afroditis Panagiotakos and Manolis Manousakis who “lives” in the tunnels of an abandoned World War II shelter.

The multimedia installation (which since the opening of the exhibition has gathered long queues of people) uses live digital images, personal narratives, television and photographic documents to tell the story of the city of Ioannina through the story of a family. “While we started with a desire to make a sound project for Ioannina, it ended up being a personal confession and I hope it will be a collective one as well. Because sometimes we find it difficult to say the “thank you” we want to our mothers, with this project I want to publicly thank mine. The work is dedicated to her, an important figure of the city“, said Aphrodite Panagiotakou.

In the “Six breaths a minute” Maria Luizou’s tradition-inspired ceramic sculptures function as clay sonic costumes that welcome the bodies of performers or visitors, creating space for voices struggling to be heard clearly, against all forms of violence. Stefania Struza’s sculptural installation entitled “Pamvotis” deals with the chemical changes the lake undergoes as a result of human activity in the area, highlighting the hope for preventing this environmental degradation.

Another impressive installation is the “Medusa” by Katerina Komianou which is placed at the edge of the lake. A sculpture of a bronze body and rubber “braids”, which refers to the well-known myth of Medusa, but also to the femicide of the lady-Frosini and 17 other women in Lake Pamvotida by Ali Pasha. Drawing from the Epirus obituaries of the Pogoni region and utilizing modern machine learning and voice synthesis technologies, Maenads’ imposing sound installation, entitled “The Passing”, transforms the south gate of the Ioannina Castle into a space where the past is given a voice and the future, sorrows and joys.

WordMord’s “Glōssic Isnaf” through the study of local myths, oral narratives, literary works and historical events, traces the gendered elements of language in the Ioannina region, as well as the relationship between human and non-human beings, utilizing as sculptural elements remains of processed of leather, from the tobacconists that operated in the city until 1970.

Among the works we also highlighted, “Flare (Oceania)” by John Gerrard, a “flag of danger” for climate change, the outdoor olfactory installation by Theoklitos Triantafyllides and Lambrilena Konstandelos, “Pheromone Spa” with the large sculptures that release a rich landscape of scents, Malvina Panagiotidis’ “A Darkness Gathers Though It Does Not Fall”, based on the study of the practices of divination, magic and different eodes in the local traditions of the wider region of Epirus and the wall sculpture installation “/ˈfilo/” by Maria Varela that examines the relationship between Ioannina wire silversmithing and that of Pirpiri embroidery, exploring whether technology can be present and support the continuation of a traditional technique and art.