2015
Know, No
Τhursday, September 17 at 19:30
openingMichalis Papamichael
artist
Monika Asimenou
curator
How can a moment, a piece of information, be transferred into a work of art? The information in the case of Michalis Papamichael is the impetus for the creation of his artworks. The information itself is interpreted in material form. His works constitute the final destination of the information which is being transformed, both spiritually and physically, through the artistic process.
Social and political events arise daily in the form of endless information. However, which of all the information is true, and which is false? What knowledge constitutes a valid fact, and to what extent is there only one truth? Papamichael re-examines and attempts to redefine these elemental and ongoing questions. The words propaganda, idolatry, perpetrator, or victim dominate his ideological vocabulary. The information ceases to be the ‘real’ truth for him. Knowledge is questioned. The search for truth becomes, through his process a necessary condition for human survival.
If in the Greek language the word ‘αλήθεια’ -truth- is formed by the ‘a’ privative and the word ‘λήθη΄meaning forgetfulness, then ‘truth’ can be considered synonymous with memory. the process of recalling the past becomes the space in which truth exists. Michael Papamichael’s visual installations in the Phytorio- Visual Artists Association constitute a kind of information. Not intended to illustrate a truth, they nevertheless find their own authenticity through the questions they raise: through their existence.
Monica Asimenou
art historian
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