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 be involved with the making of Xirómero/Dryland which is being exhibited at the Greek Pavilion at Venice BIennale 2024. We have supported the journey of its creation by offering the very irrigation machine, as well as the majority of the visual and audio material. The work is a 20′-long composition on a loop, with the irrigation machine placed at the center of the installation, giving real-time cues to all elements: sound, video, light. The machine functions on a hybrid system, combining its original hydraulic mechanism with an electric motor and electronic sensors.
During high season the Greek Pavilion is visited daily by more than 3.000 visitors. Having an exposure of such staggering numbers and the work receiving wonderful critique and comments, we would like to congratulate everyone who worked hard in making such a project happen, as well as thank the rest of the supporters and partners. Some of them we already know very well from our previous projects, with some we are looking forward to collaborate in future plans.
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.
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.
Photos © Thanasis Deligiannis
You can find more info about the work at this link.