Project Room #7

PROJECT ROOM #7 NiMAC

PROPOSAL DESPINA PETRIDOU THEKLA PAPADOPOULOU

PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 1. ARTWORK DIMENSIONS PART 1 600cm

600cm

400cm

400cm

25cm 25cm

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 1. ARTWORK DIMENSIONS PART 2

180cm

180cm 180cm

50cm 180cm

15cm 15cm

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 2. ARTWORK DETAILS FIXED WALL INSTALLATION

CERAMIC TILES

VINYL STICKER with photographs of existing paintings 03

FLOOR - BASED INSTALLATION Interactive

CUSHIONS for audience to sit on and be able to interact with the installation

CERAMIC TILES that can be moved around by audience

WOODEN BASE AND FRAME in which audience can shuffle tiles to make their composition

VINYL STICKER with photographs of existing paintings

EXTRA TILES to be used by the audience to make up their composition

PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 3. ARTWORK MATERIALS

CERAMIC TILES Readymade 25cm x 25cm

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VINYL STICKER Clear

CERAMIC TILES Readymade 15cm x 15cm

VINYL STICKER Clear

WOODEN BASE AND FRAME Birch plywood

PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 4. MOODBOARD

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 5. COLOURING

VINYL STICKER Photographs of mixed media paintings

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS

6. PLACEMENT IN AUDITORIUM SPACE

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS

6. PLACEMENT IN AUDITORIUM SPACE

PRELIMINARY SKETCHES Of installation placement in space 08

PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 7. SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHS

Sample of wall-based installation 175 cm x 100 cm Ceramic tiles, vinyl sticker

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 7. SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHS

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PROPOSAL DRAWINGS 7. SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHS

Photographs of the sample installation process 175 cm x 100 cm Ceramic tiles, vinyl sticker

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PROPOSAL ESSAY This proposal for Project Room #7 consists of a sitespecific installation with an interactive element, aiming to transform the Auditorium space into a three-dimensional canvas, where the audience can actively participate in the creation of the work presented. The artwork presented has been designed specifically for Project Room #7, considering the space of the Auditorium.

This two-part installation titled Where Waters Meet consists of an interactive ‘painting,’ positioned at the center of the room, and a wall-based installation spread throughout the north-east side of the Auditorium. When entering the room, visitors will have the opportunity to gather and sit around the wooden base at the center of the room. This structure acts as the frame in which they can collaborate to form their own artwork, by shuffling the tiles available around them. The painting surface consists of readymade ceramic tiles, which carry closeups of existing paintings and surfaces created by the artists, altering their dimension and physicality. Ceramic tiles with similar painterly patterns are also used to cover parts of the wall behind the interactive ‘painting’ installation, creating an almost immersive experience for the viewer, who now possesses the role of the spectator and the creator within the exhibition space.

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Where Waters Meet is a result of a synergy between an emerging and an established artist, creating new dialogues within existing work, and combining visual and structural aspects from both artistic practices.

This exhibition proposal aims to diversify the work of both artists in terms of research and production, while simultaneously providing a new framework through which the audience can experience and perceive art.

The active engagement and interaction between audience and artwork provides ground for challenging our understanding of painting and its position within contemporary artistic production.

The aim of this installation is to challenge and expand the boundaries of traditional painting, while offering to the audience endless possibilities of engagement and creation within the exhibition space.

By combining the conceptual aspects of the two artists’ work, Where Waters Meet embodies the interaction between architecture and nature, exploring the intervention of human activity in an ever-changing and ephemeral landscape. The fluid patterns that are dominant in the work reflect the fragility and unpredictability of the natural environment in association with humans’ need for structure and purpose, present in the geometry and linear lines that contain and ‘tame’ these patterns within the work, with the use of the tiles.

The active participation of the audience in the formation of the artwork creates a parallel with the vigorous human intervention within natural landscapes, addressing issues in relation to the impact one can have on the space in which they exist and interact.

The relationship between the exhibition space and the artwork becomes apparent as the tiles cover up and spread throughout the walls of the Auditorium, creating a painterly experience that escapes the restrictions of a canvas and enters a three-dimensional realm.

The readymade tiles act as the medium that makes this transformation possible, by carrying fragments of existing paintings and allowing them to be shuffled and dispersed throughout the space. The repetition of the ‘unit’ in the process of creating the artwork using the tiles, emphasises the significance of collaboration and interaction between artists and audience in order to build up artworks that exceed the limitations of traditional painting and position the viewer’s experience at the foundation of contemporary art practice.

Photograph showing the meeting point of two oceans in the Gulf of Alaska

PARALLEL ACTIONS As a parallel action to the exhibition Where Waters Meet, it is proposed to host an art educational workshop, considering the background of the artists involved and the impact that an interactive installation environment can have on the experience of a younger audience with art.

This workshop will be addressed to children and teenagers of ages eight to thirteen. The participants will initially have the opportunity to discuss with the artists their own perceptions and viewpoints as to what they think a painting or the act of painting is and how they usually engage with painting techniques themselves.

Then, they will be encouraged to engage with the artworks in the exhibition in their own time, followed by a discussion within the group on how their experience with painting was different in this exhibition.

The second stage of the workshop will involve the participants in the making process of their own ‘everchanging painting.’ The young artists will have the opportunity to create their own patterns on smaller tiles, inspired by natural landscapes. Then, with the use of Velcro tape, they can paste these tiles on a wooden frame to create a collaborative painting. Similarly to the installation, the tiles making up this painting can be reshuffled over and over again providing the participants with endless possibilities of interaction with their own artwork.

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ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES DESPINA PETRIDOU Despina Petridou is an emerging visual artist, curator and art educator, currently based in Dherynia, Ammochostos, Cyprus. Petridou has recently completed an MScR Collections and Curating Practices degree and an MAFA Fine Art degree, from The University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh College of Art) in Scotland. Her work has been exhibited in one solo show and in various group art exhibitions both in Cyprus, Scotland and abroad, and has undertaken curatorial projects in Cyprus and Scotland. Petridou is currently involved in art education as an art teacher at Xenion High School, Paralimni and at Atelier di Pittura, Larnaca, Cyprus.

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+357 96 502 390 2, Eleftherias Street Dherynia, Ammochostos Cyprus 5380

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despinapetridou@hotmail.com www.despinapetridou.com despinap.art

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+357 99 617 088 13, Stadiou Street Larnaca Cyprus 6020

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papadopoulou.thekla@gmail.com www.thekla-papadopoulou.com theklapapadopoulou

THEKLA PAPADOPOULOU Thekla Papadopoulou is an established visual arist, based in Larnaca, Cyprus. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts “Raffaello” of Urbino, Italy, with distinction.

Papadopoulou has exhibited her work in five solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France, Dubai and the USA. Her paintings are in several public and private collections, including the State Collection of Contemporary Art, Nicosia, the Larnaca Municipality Gallery the collection of the Central Bank of Cyprus, and the collection of CNP Insurance, Nicosia. Some of her awards include the finalist position for the Donkey Art Prize 3, Gallery 76, Dubai, and first place (cover artist and Curator’s review + Cash Prize) for Apero catalogue. Papadopoulou is also involved in art education as an art teacher at American Academy Larnaca.

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