OMPHALOS, THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH ΙΝ ΤΗΕ 21st CENTURY

by Partyisover

This work has not been commented by curators.

Title

OMPHALOS, THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH ΙΝ ΤΗΕ 21st CENTURY

Headline

the Opponent

Concept author(s)

Lydia Dambassina

Concept author year(s) of birth

1951

Concept author(s) contribution

I do all the work alone

Concept author(s) Country

Greece

Friendly Competition

Radical intimacies: dialogue in our times (2014)

Competition category

Visual communication practice

Competition subcategory

static

Competition field

nonacademic

Competition subfield

artist

Subfield description

I am a visual artist and I work with installation, photography and video. Since 2008 I work on a project through which I examine and comment on the different aspects -economic, social and normative- of the crisis that has hit Greece, Europe and the world. My works are accompanied by brief texts, mostly excerpts from the daily press. I have exhibited at the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Macédonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Kuad Gallery Istanbul, Nuit Blanche Paris and Koroneou Gallery Athens among others and I participated in the Festival Memefest (see the best works on the visual Communication Practice-static 2012.)

Check out the Radical intimacies: dialogue in our times 2014 outlines of Memefest Friendly competition.

Description of idea

Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:

The work I present shows the monstrosity of the current economic situation, how it is possible that «The world's 85 richest people have as much as half of the world’s population – that is 3.5 billion people”. “This is what strikes me the most: this silence getting deeper and deeper…»
The present project entitled: OMPHALOS, THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH ΙΝ ΤΗΕ 21st CENTURY, is a continuation of the work presented in 2012 at the State Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki and in 2013 at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art - Museum Alex Mylona in Athens, entitled «Party's Over - Starts Over».
It consists of the torso of a stuffed deer, (0.82 cm height x 1.51 m long x 0.91 depth), placed on the ground upon a rounded shape animal skin (diameter 2.20 m), while from the ceiling descends a metal rod, which has a handwritten page from a sketch pad A4 attached to its end, up to the animal's eyes where we read:

Ο ΟΜΦΑΛΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΤΟΝ 21ο ΑΙΩΝΑ
Τα 85 πλουσιότερα άτομα κατέχουν τον ίδιο πλούτο
με το ήμισυ της ανθρωπότητας - ήτοι 3.5 δισεκατομμύρια άτομα

OMPHALOS, THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH ΙΝ ΤΗΕ 21st CENTURY
The world's 85 richest people have as much as half
of the world’s population – that is 3.5 billion people

L’OMPHALOS, LE CENTRE DE LA TERRE AU 21e SIÈCLE
Les 85 personnes les plus riches possèdent autant que la moitié
de la population mondiale - soit 3.5 milliards de personnes

OMFALOS, DAS ZENTRUM DER ERDE in der XXI Jahrhunderts
Die 85 reichsten Menschen der Welt besitzen so viel wie die Hälfte der Weltbevölkerung: 3,5 Milliarden Menschen
‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
أومفالوس، مركز الأرض في القرن الحادي والعشرين‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
85 شخصا الأكثر غنا في العالم يملكون ما يملكه نصف سكان العالم – أي 3.5 مليار نسمة‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
Пуп земли ХХI века
85 богатейших людей мира обладают богатством равным совокупному богатству половины остального человечества - то есть 3,5 миллиардов людей

ÓNFALOS: EL CENTRO DE LA TIERRA EN EL SIGLO XXI
Las 85 personas más ricas del mundo poseen tanto como la mitad de la población mundial: 3500 millones de personas.

OMFALOS, IL CENTRO DELLA TERRA NEL SECOLO XXI
Le 85 persone più ricche del mondo possedono tanto quanto la metà della popolazione mondiale : 3,5 miliardi di persone

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/20/oxfam-85-richest-people-half-of-the-world

I am using organic materials to emphasize the contrast between the subject and our current shredded culture, which ignores the man and his relationship with nature.
The ephemeral character of the work reveals both the fragility of human nature and the world.
I chose to write this message by hand on a simple sheet of paper -in several languages-with the hope that lot of people will read it and that it we'll wake us up, make us revolt.

What kind of communication approach do you use?

Rather a moderate approach, the use of my site http://www.lydiadambassina.com and my exhibitions.

What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?

I don’t know, maybe thoughts and emotion that some people convey to me when they look at my works

What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?

As an artist, I often use readymade objects in my work, but every time, it is like a new experience and a different thought process. Moreover, I delved deeper into the political/economical crisis, acquired new information and my worst fear, that things are only getting worse, was confirmed.

Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?

The purpose of all my work as an artist, which I am entirely devoted to, is this: that my work can communicate with others, then this work is a good work.

Where and how do you intent do implement your work?

I will exhibit it at the Archaeological Museum of Delphi in April 2015.

Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)

Due to the political nature of my work, there was a great deal of newspaper coverage of my work, and lot of interest in the internet, as people seem to be intrigued by this combination of art and politics.

Curators Comments

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