VISIT: THEO TRIANTAFYLLIDIS | PHEROMONE SPA & Sub Rosa| Joanna Piotrowska & Formafantasma

25.11.22 @ 17:00

On Friday November 25th, SNF ARTWORKS Fellows were guided through the exhibitions “Theo Triantafyllidis | Pheromone Spa” at The Breeder gallery and “Sub Rosa |Joanna Piotrowska & Formafantasma” at ARCH, Athens.

Associate Director of Exhibitions & Special projects at The Breeder, Alkistis Tsabouraki, introduced our Fellows to the concept of Theo’s Triantafyllidis solo exhibition, while Theo guided them through the space, consisting of two performative systems, Bugsim (Pheromone Spa) and Ork Haus. The artist presented the immersive installations, including sculptural furniture, custom electronics and a homebrew pheromone aroma, and shared ethical questions and concerns around the concept of the exhibition.

Our next stop was at ARCH, where Nassia Kalamakis, guided our Fellows through Sub Rosa, an exhibition by artist Joanna Piotrowska and design studio Formafantasma.

Joanna Piotrowska kept returning to photographing roses and reflecting on them in the context of her time in Nagorno-Karabakh. Inspired by the ambiguous qualities of the interrogation room as a starting point, she invited Formafantasma to collaborate on translating this multilayered experience into objects. The result of the collaboration is a series of “anti-frame” framing devices that contain Piotrowska’s images of roses. These stainless steel devices, made of elements, materials and forms found in interrogation rooms, impose a threatening tension upon the prints, and replicate the power dynamics inherent in her story.