Mystery 22_Straw falling on concrete floors

Old Olive Mill, Elefsina 
Thighs of Demeter, 2022

Curated by Zoi Moutsokou and Ioanna Gerakidi
28 September – 23 October 2022

2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, in collaboration with the Aeschylia Festival 2022, presents the in situ visual arts installation “Straw falling on concrete floors” by internationally renowned visual artist Kostas Velonis, at the courtyard behind the open theater of the Old Olive Mill.

The goddess Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, offer the ideal narrative for the merging of the inorganic with the organic element and how seemingly different entities and physical phenomena, defined by movement or immobility, animate and inanimate matter, flourishing and withering, can overlap and not work in opposition. The installation is a strict geometric delimitation that functions as a mechanism of gestation and harvesting, with agricultural activities being linked to the erotic act. However, the erotic narrative in this monumental sculptural installation is not only underlined by the triangular shape of its structure, but is also found in the functionality of the construction. The “thighs of Demeter” function as an insect shelter with floors consisting of different recyclable materials and plants, which “seduce” all kinds of insects that assist in the pollination process. The architectural scale of the construction connects to the notion of moira as protractor measurement unit with the notion of moira as destiny and luck. The stakes of this upright and vertical anthropomorphic field do not only concern the surface of the earth and the height of a “wind-friendly” structure, but also address a reverse course, where height can be understood as an ultimate depth.