Date/Time
17/03/2022 - 06/05/2022
10:00 - 17:00
Location
B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music
Under Acupressure
A solo exhibition by Natasha Papadopoulou
Curated by Panos Giannikopoulos
Opening
Thursday, 17 March 2022, 18:00-22:00
This is our last dance
This is ourselves under pressure
(Queen and David Bowie, ‘Under Pressure,’ 1981)
The song’s refrain – under pressure – is playing on repeat, without words. Under pressure we’re breaking, but in Under Acupressure Natasha Papadopoulou upends the terms of pressure and explores ways of physical resistance. She sets up a unique pressure point massage studio – a weird space in which self-care takes on new meaning, in a critique of commodified wellness.
Energy channels, subcutaneous links, meridians from the upper back to the extremities, skin-deep paths and deeper connections with organs, tissues and words. Compressions take place on yoga mats, using bottles converted into massage rollers, while enjoying a view to the Hellenic Parliament building; linguistic tropes follow musical rhythms.
A ‘how-to’ or ‘promo’ video is on view in the reception area, and self-massage systems are available for visitors to use on the terrace. Repurposed jackets invite visitors to lie down and look at the sky; incendiary devices in the guise of beer bottles invite the visitors to roll their feet over them; leather clothing extensions are strewn on the floor. Facilitated by this array of devices, point pressure releases muscle tension and promotes blood flow, inducing relaxation or stimulation.
The experience of this performative event is inextricably intertwined with self-care. In Under Acupressure, the inappropriate, what becomes unfamiliar by repression, establishes a condition of comfort. Skin has a special role in the symbolic system constructed by Papadopoulou. Skin texture fuses with linguistic texture; the body becomes a text and vice versa. Invoking Hélène Cixous’ concept of writing the body, the artist develops novel linguistic-physical strategies by focusing on skin. Papadopoulou proposes a fluid condition – an open, non-linear semantic system that facilitates a respite from the conditions of information consumption. She constructs a framework for a delightful contact with reality through the body while revisiting the concept of care. Here, contrasting notions, such as activity-passivity, reason-passion, body-intellect, head-heart, are called into question. Discipline is disrupted, and the body itself is reconfigured, all while flying in the face of linguistic standards.
During the opening, the visitors are invited to interact with the work, while in the presence of the artist and after following her directions.
Artist: Natasha Papadopoulou
Curator: Panos Giannikopoulos
Artistic Director: Marina Miliou-Theocharakis
Exhibition Production Assistant: Nefeli Siafaka
Duration: March 17, 2022–May 6, 2022
Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10:00-17:00 hrs,
Thursday, 17:00-21:00 hrs
General Admission: 2€
Book your ticket here
BIOS
Natasha Papadopoulou lives and works in Amsterdam. Her artistic practice includes time-based media, performance, installation and participatory intervention, inviting viewers to feel the artworks in their own body. Her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions, in museums, art spaces and organisations, including Komplot, Brussels; Framer Framed, Amsterdam; Kim? Contemporary Art Center, Riga; PuntWG, Amsterdam; Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam; EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens; Hyle, Athens; Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; De Appel, Amsterdam; Buenos Tiempos, Int., Brussels; Haus N Athen, Athens; Kunsthalle Athena, Athens; 7th and 5th Thessaloniki Biennale, Thessaloniki; MOMus – Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki.
Panos Giannikopoulos is an Athens-based curator and researcher. He has curated exhibitions for cultural organisations in Greece and other countries including GAMeC, Bergamo; Mediterranea 19 – Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, San Marino; Haus N Athen, Athens; Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), Athens; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Contemporary Greek Art Institute (ISET), Athens; Athens Biennale, Athens; Snehta, Athens; Korai, Nicosia. He was a Schwarz Foundation Curatorial Fellow (2016). Recipient of the Premio Lorenzo Bonaldi per l’Arte – EnterPrize (2021). He currently works for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation ARTWORKS Artist Fellowship Program.
