The art exhibition The Symbolics of Resistance: A Route from Gyzis to Street Artists deriving from the broad conceptual framework of “Greece 2021” examines how the Greek artistic creation of the last 200 years captured and invested symbolically the resistance to the usurpation of freedom. From Nikolaos Gyzis’ The Secret School (1886) to conceptual anti-dictatorial art to contemporary street art, the exhibition creates visual juxtapositions to compose micro-narratives that provoke and stimulate collective memory and consciousness.

The exhibition takes place on Tinos island and specifically at the medieval village of Arnados. The atmospheric environment of the settlement’s preserved cellar, symbolically invested with the legend of the secret school, was a source of inspiration for Gyzis’ homonymous work. The distinctive architecture of the village with the medieval vaulted arches and cobbled streets is utilised in the exhibition practice creating an immersive, direct and tangible experience for the visitor. Composing a historico-artistic route in which art and politics intersect, reproductions of significant artworks by A. Akrithakis, D. Alithinos, V. Caniaris, Y. Gaïtis, V. Katraki, Y. Psychopedis, G. Simossi, Α. Tassos, sculptor Theodoros, C. Tsoclis and C. Xenakis are placed inside the arches. Simultaneously, an original large-scale mural by M. Anastasakos is installed at the village entrance representing the contemporary expression of resistance to the difficult pages of our modern reality.

The labyrinthine architecture of Arnados in combination with the strong island wind contribute to the creation of an immersive experience that activates the viewer’s senses and intensifies the symbolic power of the works. Specifically, the visitor following a symbolic route into history starts from the contemporary street art and through the maze-like arches proceeds to the gloomy reality of seven periods of modern and contemporary Greek history (austerity programmes, migration tragedy, Dictatorship, post-war political turmoil, Civil War, German occupation and Greek Revolution) to culminate to the symbolically charged work of Gyzis and the mythopoetic representation of the Greek Revolution (1821).

In the ideologically charged field between legend and lived reality, a selection of works representative of art as a symbolic resistance is incorporated into an avant-garde approach to history through emblematic spatial, mnemonic and symbolic landmarks.

The exhibition took place from 15 July to 15 September at the traditional village of Arnados on Tinos island.

The exhibition was organised by ΕuroMare, curated by the art historian Alia Tsagkari, under the Auspices of the Committee “Greece 2021” and the Municipality of Tinos,with the support of Βallis Winery and Estia Services.

For the virtual tour of the exhibition, click HERE.

Installation photographs: @Elena Marinou 2021