In Vasilis Zografos’s works, the narrative engages with the notion of “paradox” and its definitions as strange, noteworthy, unexpected, incredible, heretic, miraculous... which in a way characterise the creative process and practice. It is the artist’s behavior as author and the creative process itself that lead him away from what one would call current logic, beyond stereotypes and set beliefs, pronouncing theses beyond the ordinary, theses which reason does not expect.
Vasilis Zografos’s “canvases depict fading creatures alongside representations of decorative objects and paintings illustrating man’s strained relationship to wildlife. (...) By confining each action or element to a single canvas, Zografos isolates and captures his subjects with all the zeal of an amateur collector assembling a curiosity cabinet. As such, his portraits of animals acquire the symbolic capital of hunting trophies.”* For the exhibition "Paradox", the historic building that used to be the house were Mohammed Ali, founder of modern Egypt, was born and raised, becomes a recipient and a shell for contemporary paintings, suggesting new dialogues between the space’s historic elements and the almost uncanny, added interventions that these paintings entice. Thalea Stefanidou (art historian, curator) *Excerpt from a text by curator Stephanie Bertrand. |
Mohammed Ali's House |
