“D POSSESSIONS” is the first solo exhibition in Greece of the Belgo-Greek artist Danai Anesiadou. Born in Germany to parents of Greek origin and based in Brussels since her early years, Anesiadou has developed a range of metaphysical and personal concerns into a seductive and mercurial body of work over the last fifteen years, which references cinema, occult sciences, Greek antiquity, surrealism, and contemporary affairs. Described as a “21st-century European poster girl for crisis,” her work is highly attuned to both the political and the invisible fabric of reality. Armed with a keen interest in historiography and politics, she questions what we consider to be true, pointing to the double standards and false dichotomies of the dominant discourse.
“D POSSESSIONS” invites visitors into an allegorical scenography consisting of sculptures, collages, props, crystals, and iron objects, among others, referencing the rise of political, social, and spiritual crises. In an attempt to permanently get rid of all her personal belongings, she cast them into epoxy. She then added metal shavings and quartz crystals to the mix, transforming them into orgonites, devices which some believe attract Orgone (life-force energy) that extracts negative energy and transmutes it into positive. The orgonite-sculptures carry multiple forms and shapes, created from moulds of architectural elements from set design in which she embeds her possessions. Like a modern-day exorcist, Anesiadou attempts to purge and transform not only her material possessions but also the energies they carry.
Seeking to understand and critically reflect on the present, Anesiadou looks to trace connections between things that on the surface seem utterly unrelated—from fake news and conspiracy theories, to Hollywood and the Pentagon’s Entertainment Industrial Complex, to reality TV and the fashion industry, incorporating references to ancient Greek sculpture, surrealism and B-movies. What impact may these have on the state of our world and our minds today? Trying to resist binary thinking, she questions what is truth and what is fiction claiming a right to interrogate everything.
The different elements that make up this kaleidoscopic exhibition create an immersive and alluring environment which, at the same time, suggests a sense of the uncanny, the surreal and the uneasy. Playing with rumour, fantasy and the mystical, Anesiadou’s work acts as an acute socio-political commentary on the multiple and multi-layered crises we face, the invisible, repressed or darker sides of reality, and the extreme polarisation we currently witness on a daily basis.
Curated by
Ioli Tzanetaki
at EMST, Athens
until October 27, 2024