Can a white, unrippable, resistant material become the starting point for an exhibition that
focuses on lived experience, identity, and oppositional forms of expression from the 1970s to
the present day?
The artistic director of ATOPOS cvc, Vassilis Zidianakis announces The Tyvek Project, an
exhibition that is part of its Research Programme, RRRIPP!! a series of projects that take as
their subject holdings from the collection.
The Tyvek Project was devised in collaboration with Mata Dimakopoulou (National and
Kapodistrian University of Athens), and Electra Stampoulou & Vassilis Vlastaras (Athens
School of Fine Arts) and started with two items from the ATOPOS collection: a Tyvek jacket
like the one that the American poet James Merrill ‘wore’ in “Self Portrait in Tyvek
Windbreaker,” an autobiographical poem informed by the poet’s anxiety for his own ailing
body, and his discontent vis-à-vis environmental degradation and globalised capitalism; and
a white Tyvek suit, hand-stamped by artists of the New York experimental and avant-garde
scene of the late 1970s.
Participating artists engage with the mass-produced hyper-resistant material and reflect on
urban decay, crisis and austerity, intimacy and queer experiences. This body of work was
produced in the context of workshops that conjoined research, theory, and art practice and
took place at the Athens School of Fine Arts in the fall of 2021 and 2022.
The exhibition and related events are curated and organised by Elena Koumarianou, Lydia
Panagou, and Caterina Stamou.
24 November – 21 December 2022
Opening Hours: Wednesday 16:00- 20:00, Thursday & Friday 12:00 – 18:00
Visit: Free entry, pre-booking at Artsvp
Organization: ATOPOS cvc
Participating Artists: Semeli Avramioti, Erifyli Angelopoulou, Eleftheria Amolochiti, Alexandra
Apsokardou, Ariadni Delimitrou, Eleni Dermitzaki, Orestis Dimitriou, Sophia Kapourani, Eleni
Karakou, Despoina Katsikosta, Katerina Korre, Elena Koumarianou, Alexandra Krokou,
Maria Labrinidi, Charis Mavroulias, Triantafylia Douroupi, Kyriaki Osogia, Ellie
Papadopoulou, Christina Rossi, Katerina Skordou, Elena Stigka, Alexis Tetsis, Maritina
Tselepi, Tatiana Choremi, Alma-Clara Juarez
Academic Organisers: Mata Dimakopoulou, Elektra Stampoulou, Vassilis Vlastaras
Curating and Public Programme: Elena Koumarianou, Lydia Panagou and Caterina Stamou
*Elektra Stampoulou and Caterina Stamou are SNF ARTWORKS Fellows