Xirómero/Dryland

Venice Biennale | 60th International Art Exhibition
April-November 2024, Giardini, Greek Pavilion

Xirómero/Dryland is an interdisciplinary collective work conceived by Thanasis Deligiannis and Yannis Michalopoulos, created along with the artists Elia Kalogianni, Yorgos Kyvernitis, Kostas Chaikalis and Fotis Sagonas.

I/O is proud to have been involved in the creation of Xirómero/Dryland, which was exhibited at the Greek Pavilion of the 2024 Venice Art Biennale. We supported the project throughout its development by providing the irrigation machine itself, as well as the majority of the visual and audio material. The work consisted of a 20-minute immersive composition presented on a continuous loop, with the irrigation machine placed at the center of the installation, providing real-time cues for all elements: sound, video, light. The machine operated through a hybrid system, combining its original hydraulic mechanism with an electric motor and electronic sensors.

The pavilions of the Venice Art Biennale in 2024 received 700,000 visitors. With exposure at this scale, and with the work receiving strong critical responses and positive commentary, we would like to acknowledge and congratulate everyone who contributed to making the project possible, and to thank all supporters and partners. Some of them we already know very well from our previous projects, while others opened paths toward future collaborations we continue to value and look forward to developing.

The artistic research for Xirómero/Dryland was commissioned by the Onassis Foundation, initiated and directed in the context of the Margaroni Residency (2022 & 2023, produced by I/O) by the Onassis AiR Fellows transdisciplinary artist & composer Thanasis Deligiannis and dramaturge & philologist Yannis Michalopoulos. The two of them brought together a team which included visual artist & filmmaker Elia Kalogianni, photographer & documentary filmmaker Yorgos Kyvernitis, sound engineer & designer Kostas Chaikalis and visual artist & architect Fotis Sagonas.

Xirómero/Dryland Venice Biennale 2024 ©Thanasis Deligiannis

The Xirómero/Dryland Team

Artists:
Thanasis Deligiannis, Yannis Michalopoulos, Elia Kalogianni, Yorgos Kyvernitis, Kostas Chaikalis, Fotis Sagonas.

Artistic collaborators:
Fotini Papachristopoulou (artistic advice during the simulation and on-location work phases)
Vassiliki-Maria Plavou, Marios Stamatis (design of catalogue & communication material)

Light design: Stephanos Droussiotis
Design and coordination of audiovisual installation: Stavros Nikolakopoulos
Technical advisor for mechanics design and construction: Manos Vordonarakis
Lighting technician and programmer: Yannis Lavvas
Installation technicians: Yannis Nikolakopoulos, Nikos Bila, Nikos Sarafoglou
Assistant technicians for mechanics construction:
-Architect: Themis Istatiadis
-Automations: Ilias Kazais, Dimitris Ovadias
-Workers: Plywacz Tomasz, Starowicz Krzysztof, Pavel Nowak, Piotre Nowak, Ali Lotfolahi
Electrical installation: Ioannis Misaillis

Voices (archive and studio recorded): Kiki Margaroni, Natasa Tsakiridou, Lina Alatzidou, Dafni Nikolaou, Christina Kemanetzidou. Clarinet: Kostas Zafeiropoulos. Recordings took place at Studio Praxis.

Cultural mediators / Pavilion invigilators: Theodora Giannopoulou, Anastasia Papastefanou, Aspasia Patrozou, Maria Michelaki, Tijana Stefanović, Adileily Olivares Jiménez

Curator: Panos Giannikopoulos
Commissioner | Organisation: ΕΜΣΤ | National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens

Funded by the Hellenic Republic – Ministry of Culture. Powered by Onassis Culture. Supported by Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Athens Epidaurus Festival, Greek National Tourism Organization, ARTWORKS & Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), NEON Culture and Development Organization, Outset, Qualco Foundation, AEGEAN, Municipality of Xirómero.