CURRENT | UPCOMING | PAST

THE BURROW

participating artists
Nayia Frangouli , Jim Osman , Antigoni Pasidi , Anna Kanai , Andreas Dobler , Edgar Martins

14 MAY - 30 JULY 2011

Starting from the premise that any form of architecture or space is created out of a need for protection, we look into the increasingly complicated relationship between manmade space and the natural environment. On the one hand there are the complex structures that form our cityscapes and all the zones in between from suburbs, exurbs, commuter towns to garden cities, on the other hand there is the alienation from the authentic landscape that those bring about. If Kafka’s story from which the title is taken tells us that fear is an inner emotion from which we cannot escape then the recent events in Japan definitely confirm our vulnerability. The 18th and 19th century European visitors to Greece painted and drew the ancient ruins, restaged the remains and allowed their imagination to run free so as to ensure a harmonious setting with a perfect balance between nature and culture. Their approach though followed the ‘picturesque’ tradition that views the landscape not as part of the natural environment but as a framed image. More and more, with rising tourism, countries are portrayed by idealistic vistas. The artists in the exhibition work extensively with the ideas of space be it private, urban, or public, the sociological implications of architecture, the manipulation of landscape, and the disappearance of authentic experience.