Throughout human history, there has been society’s persistent effort to impose a gender binary as a basis for shaping a specific/prescribed social identity for people.
It attempts to conform to closed concepts of masculinity or femininity in shaping its members’ perceptions of both their gender and their interaction with other members of society.
This externally shaped and imposed false social identity, adapted to specific gendered patterns of behavior, functions on the one hand as a protective shell from the critical gaze of the narrower and broader environment, while at the same time constitutes a huge limitation on the expression of the individual’s personality.
The process of rupture, of breaking this shell, the liberating choice of exit, is a personal, complex and multifaceted process, which through any difficulties, contributes to the rejection of the “normality” of gender roles, the real encounter of the individual with their true self and the acceptance of their uniqueness.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Athens Pride, artist Dimitris Asteriou, through painting and sculpture, tells stories of people in their effort to come into contact with their nature, to recognize it and to allow themselves to communicate with their environment.
With intense, warm colors and a multitude of materials – acrylics, oils, markers, watercolors, wood, glues and ready-mades – in large-scale works and sculptural installations, naked bodies of lonely teenagers, same-sex couples, trans boys and girls, through a multitude of symbols, invite us to become participants in this journey.
People torn between the physicality of their nature and the obsessions of society, are transformed: their heads become boxes that imprison thought suffocatingly, while some others become houses – symbols of the artist’s path towards their maturity and completion – they break the shell and transform into liberated and proud cypress trees that claim security and freedom, the joy of life with certainty and self-confidence.
Cooperative team:
Visual artist: Asteriou Dimitrios
Production: HUMAN CAST
Co-production: Athens Pride
Exhibition Curator: Aikaterini Kontarini, Mary Sakellariou, Nasos Katsiaounis
Titles of works by the poet: Myron m. Pavenos
In the Warehouse hall of the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens
Exhibition dates and opening hours: Thursday 5/6: 11.00 – 15.00, Opening Friday 6/6 18.30 – 22.30 7-8-9/6 11.00 – 15.00 & 17:00 – 21:00, 10-11-12-13-14-15/6 11:00 – 15:00
Event accessibility: Technopolis is fully accessible to people in wheelchairs. The spaces are mainly outdoor and flat. The nearest metro station is “Kerameikos” (Line 3 – Blue), 50 meters from the entrance on Iakchou Street, with an elevator and accessible toilet available. Bus and trolleybus service is provided from the “Fotaerio” stop on Piraeus Street, with access to lines 049, 815, 838, 914, B18, C18 and trolleybus 21. There is no parking available within Technopolis; it is recommended to use Public Transport or nearby private parking lots.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/9Krm9wYMy
