ΗΛΕΚΤΡΙΣ how to think like a mountain

Τhe group exhibition ΗΛΕΚΤΡΙΣ | How to think like a mountain draws inspiration from Samothrace island. Remote and full of contradictions, with an almost electric charm, it has always been known as sacred place, while its rich nature and history weave its elusive legend until today. The famous quote “Think like a mountain”, by Leopold Aldo, American ecologist who had greatly influenced the contemporary ecocentric approach and the discourse around environmental ethics, strongly resonates with the imposing mountain of the island.

With the Old School in Therma village as a reference point, located in the wild nature of the northern side of Samothrace, eight artists are invited to explore the island and create new works, installations and interventions. It is said that, in past times, classes here often took place outside the school, en plain air, in a way that might be freely juxtaposed with contemporary place-based education. Such a context inevitably raises questions on environmental education, aesthetics and ethics, particularly within a natural environment which encourages embodied perception.

The exhibition explores the role of contemporary artistic practice, manifested outside its usual urban realm, and how it mediates to encourage an alternative, more profound interconnection between human and nature. The rural environment is equally reclaimed as a fertile ground for reflection on socio-political and environmental issues, while nature, history and human activity are experienced as an ever-changing relational field. With the support of NEON.

Artists: Eleanna Balesi, Pythagoras Chatziandreou, Niki Goulema, Alexandros Kaklamanos, Katerina Kotsala, Konstantinos Kotsis, Marina Velisioti, Sofia-Chryssanthi Touboura

Curated by DimitraTsiaouskoglou