From January 11 to March 17, 2024, PCAI presents I’d rather be a Cyborg than a Goddess, a video art programme with works from the PCAI Art Collection, curated by Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI Artistic Director. The programme will be hosted at The Ellinikon Experience Centre, one of the largest and most technologically advanced visitor centres in the world.

A preamble of the tribute took place, recently, during the second assembly of the International Association of Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art (IACCCA) in Athens. The programme brings together video works of women artists reflecting on the notions of climate disruption, consumerism, space waste, technology and gender: contemporary narratives that span from the earthly reality to dystopias and science fiction.

The programme title I’d rather be a Cyborg than a Goddess derives from Donna Haraway’s 1985 seminal essay on cyborgian manifestations and relativities. The selected PCAI works weave altogether a story telling paradigm relating to primary science fiction penned by women writers. Works that often seem to echo Octavia Butler’s and Ursula K. Le Guin’s concerns about the Other. Videos that reflect on areas and concepts pertinent to Mary Shelley’s and Rhoda Broughton’s Victorian texts, two of the first women to write sci-fi novels and short stories.

Afroditi Psarra’s commission Ventriloquist Ontology (2022), created on the occasion of the Sheltered Gardens exhibition, explores the limits of control and hybridization between human and machine through the relationship of a performer and a wearable entity.

Eva Papamargariti’s work Factitious Imprints (2016), part of her former New Museum solo show, focuses on the idea of constructed nature and how it can be documented and defined through a palimpsest of imprints that simultaneous human and natural processes fabricate on different surfaces and terrains.

Almagul Menlibayeva’s work Ulugh Beg. New Silk Road in Space (2020) was created in partnership with artists Inna Artemova and German Popov in the context of the second Lahore Biennial. The video unravels Menlibayeva’s research upon the life of important astronomer and ruler of Samarkand Sultan Mirzo Ulugh Begh, a further reflection on space debris and the industrial contamination of modernity, as well as on ancestral, patriarchal norms related to ruling and prevailing.

Ariana Papademetropoulos’ work Voyage to Venus (2019), shot on the Greek island of Milos, builds its narrative around Louvre’s Venus de Milo sculpture and nature’s predominant force. The artist, as a Victorian Nereid, in lieu of ordinary domestic settings, floats in awe among coastal landscapes and the dark, abyssal caves of the Aegean.

The programme is inspired by the architectural legacy and futuristic vision of pioneering architect Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), who designed the main building of the former East Terminal of the Athens International Airport, which operated within Elliniko until 2000. It also aligns with the aim of The Ellinikon to become not only an architectural landmark, but also a smart city that drastically reduces the carbon footprint of its inhabitants. The programme intends to elaborate further on the radicality, as well as the ecological and gender connotations of landmarks of today and will be accompanied by a series of educational workshops.

More about The Ellinikon
Spanning an area of 6.2 million square metres, The Ellinikon is one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the world. Located on the historic site of the former Athens International Airport, it aims to redefine the urban landscape and create a city of the future based on innovation, sustainability and culture.

theellinikon.com

More about Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI)
PCAI is a cultural organization, founded by Athanasios Polychronopoulos, Polygreen CEO, as a means to increase environmental awareness through an annual programme of art commissions, contemporary art exhibitions, artist residencies, workshops, conferences. The organisation implements its objectives through three areas of activity: the PCAI art collection, the PCAI annual program of cultural projects and the support that PCAI offers to artistic initiatives and artists sharing its environmental concerns. In 2019, Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI’s artistic director, initiated the organisation’s artist-in-residence programme with a residency jury of esteemed members, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine artistic director, and Krist Gruijthuijsen, KW Institute Director. In 2021 PCAI became an official nominator for the Earthshot Prize, the significant environmental award established by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

www.pcai.gr

More about the International Association of Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art (IACCCA)
IACCCA is an organisation made up of over 50 corporate collections from across the globe. Together with its members, IACCCA reflects on the specific challenges and responsibilities of managing corporate art collections in the world of today and prepare for that of tomorrow. Its mission is to acknowledge the importance of companies’ commitment to art and increase awareness of the artistic and patrimonial value of each member’s collection.

www.iaccca.com

Visiting hours:
From January 11 to March 17, 2024
Open Daily: 09:00 - 21:00
The Ellinikon Experience Centre
Free entrance: Online booking is necessary for your entry to the Experience Centre

The exhibition will remain closed on 22-25/01, 30-31/01, 01/02, 05-10/02 και 15/02/2024.

Spread the word and use the hashtags #theellinikon #pcai #pcaiartcollection
More information: info@pcai.gr | pcai.gr