Vasilis Papageorgiou
Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or
02 Mar - 28 Apr 2024
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed II, 2024, painted steel, Macauba marble, copper plated beach towel, 170 x 70 x 99 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed V (double), 2024, painted steel, video, screen, copper plated beach towel, 178 x 120 x 85 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed III, 2024, painted steel, newspaper, cast bronze, 209 x 60 x 84 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed IV (double), 2024, painted steel, 213 x 120 x 82 cm, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed I, 2024, painted steel, copper plated beach towel Tinos marble, cast bronze ring, 193 x 95 x 96 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed II, 2024, painted steel, Macauba marble, copper plated beach towel, 170 x 70 x 99 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunbed V (double), 2024, painted steel, video, screen, copper plated beach towel, 178 x 120 x 85 cm, detail, courtesy of the artist. Exhibition view Vasilis Papageorgiou, Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or, Salzburger Kunstverein 2024, photo: kunst-dokumentation.
The exhibition Sunseekers or Dimming the Sun or invites us into a contemplation on the capitalist systems of pleasure, their role in the cyclical depletion of planetary resources, and the loop these create in relation to the need for rest and regeneration.
At its core, the exhibition navigates through two distinct discourses, as hinted at in its title. The tourism industry’s emblematic “sunseekers” — those who chase the warmth and follow the promise of endless pleasure under the sun, are juxtaposed with the idea of “dimming the sun,” which stems from the scientific discourse surrounding solar radiation management (SRM)—a geoengineering solution to cool the earth by artificially dimming the sun’s rays. Papageorgiou’s choice to punctuate the exhibition title with an additional “or” hints at a realm of possibilities beyond this dichotomy, suggesting an exploration of alternatives, or perhaps, an unresolved question into the future we are collectively authoring. It is in this speculative space that the exhibition finds its expression.
The exhibition operates with several evocative elements such as an array of metal sunbeds that host smaller sculptures such as copper-plated beach towels, a solitary flower, a drawer containing a newspaper proclaiming a “return to the stars,” among others. These sunbeds, in their deliberate composition, become the orspaces where the light of leisure meets the shadow of tourism’s environmental impact, urging us to ponder our place between the aspiration of pleasure and the sustainability of our planet.
Curator: Mirela Baciak
At its core, the exhibition navigates through two distinct discourses, as hinted at in its title. The tourism industry’s emblematic “sunseekers” — those who chase the warmth and follow the promise of endless pleasure under the sun, are juxtaposed with the idea of “dimming the sun,” which stems from the scientific discourse surrounding solar radiation management (SRM)—a geoengineering solution to cool the earth by artificially dimming the sun’s rays. Papageorgiou’s choice to punctuate the exhibition title with an additional “or” hints at a realm of possibilities beyond this dichotomy, suggesting an exploration of alternatives, or perhaps, an unresolved question into the future we are collectively authoring. It is in this speculative space that the exhibition finds its expression.
The exhibition operates with several evocative elements such as an array of metal sunbeds that host smaller sculptures such as copper-plated beach towels, a solitary flower, a drawer containing a newspaper proclaiming a “return to the stars,” among others. These sunbeds, in their deliberate composition, become the orspaces where the light of leisure meets the shadow of tourism’s environmental impact, urging us to ponder our place between the aspiration of pleasure and the sustainability of our planet.
Curator: Mirela Baciak