21.09.05 - 19.11.05
At his first solo exhibition in Greece, entitled "Between Experience and Experiment", Tsivopoulos presents two installations.
The sculptural installation "Bachelor Pad" is displayed at the 1st floor of the Gallery. This is an architecturally accurate reconstruction of the last apartment the artist lived in during his stay in Athens. The details of the construction - the textures, the colours and the proportions - are exact, with the sole difference of being 30% smaller in scale than the original. Furthermore, a computer software generates the on and off switching of the light bulbs in each area following a strictly timed pattern, simulating the actual movement of the artist in the space. The large glass that separates the viewer from the apartment's interior reinforces the sense of isolation and claustrophobia, while at the same time converts the sculpture into a two-dimensional representation, a pictorial space.
At the 2nd floor of the Gallery, Tsivopoulos presents "Actors", a video-installation based on an improvised performance. The artist constructs a space with two cots, which reminds of military quarters, creating thus a suffocating atmosphere. He has selected four actors, all dressed in military uniforms, and has provided them with minimal guidance on the development of their characters. The four actors, who meet for the very first time during their stay in the room, are unaware of each other's real lives and they actually improvise. The genuine aspects of their personalities come forth and interact. Although no particular pattern is followed, the viewer observes the development of relationships among the men similar to those that mark the actual experience of the army. The non-linear nature of the projection is further enhanced by the installation; the screening at the back embarks on the 'fictitious' and via the performance introduces the 'real', while the screenings at the front feature the 'real', embedded in the 'fictitious'.
In both works, the artist deals with the function of memory, individual as well as collective.