CHRISTODOULOS PANAYIOTOU 'NEVERLAND' AT RODEO

NEVER LAND

Christodoulos Panayiotou

Preview/ açılıs: 24.02.09 18-21

Exhibition/ sergi: 25.02.09 – 04.04.09
Open/ açık: tue-sat 12-18/ salı-cum 12-18

Rodeo is very pleased to announce the first Istanbul solo exhibition of Limassol born, Berlin based artist Christodoulos Panayiotou.

The exhibition takes its name after the three-channel synchronized slide show Never Land, one of the three works presented at the gallery. Never Land (first shown at the Taipei Biennale 2008) is an abstract scenario on the subject of failure. Composed after research in the archives of the oldest newspaper in the Island of Cyprus “Phileleftheros”, the work proposes a view on the decade of the 90s, the socially and politically charged period during which Cyprus was in the process of becoming a member of the European Union.

Wonder Land (single slide projection), the second work presented in the exhibition, is the outcome of extensive research in the municipal archives of the city of Limassol pointing out the obsession of locals to disguise into Disney characters during the carnival parade (one of the most important social events on the island). The work covers the period from late 70s up to 2007.

To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause is the audio recording of the performance under the same title, which took place on a boat traversing the Aegean Sea in September 2007. Seven songs from American musicals of the cold war and that use weather metaphors for utopian projections are performed by the singer Kristian Finne Kristensen. The performance is part of a project under the general title Let it shine which was initiated in Istanbul while the artist was a resident at Platfrom-Garanti and which documents the way in which ordinary meteorological reports constitute the subversive language of politics and political ideology.

“Originally trained in dance and performing arts in Lyon and London Panayiotou's works are performance-based and collectively span every level of what one could describe as a spectrum of the performative in art – from creating a space for an activity such as dancing, directing actors and events, to the recording and tracing of both the artist's and society's 'performances'. Formed in a range of media, often incorporating video and sound within installations Panayiotou's aesthetic interventions often reference political stimuli and yet can be read in a multitude of ways. In 2005 Panayiotou won the 4th DESTE Prize from the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Athens, Greece. He has recently exhibited in The Museum Of Modern Art Oxford, UK, 2006; The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, 2007; Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center Istanbul, 2006 (where he has also been a resident artist the same year); Den Frie, Copehagen, 2007, The Busan Biennal (2008), Taipei Biennale (2008).” (N.P)

Panayiotou is currently a resident artist in Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, where his solo exhibition opens in March 2009. In the coming months will be exhibiting at MOCA Miami and the 2nd Athens Biennial.

Rodeo
Tütün Deposu // Lüleci Hendek Caddesi No 12 Tophane 34425 Istanbul TR
T + 90 212 2935800
www.rodeo-gallery.com
info@rodeo-gallery.com

http://christodoulospanayiotou.blogspot.com/