Exploration of dualities

The concept of the “double” is prevalent across all cultures and mythologies, symbolizing dualism, inner conflict, and interconnectedness. In mythology, twins, often signify two halves of a whole, embodying contrasting qualities like male/female, good/evil, or sun/moon. Featuring the visionary works of Anna Ruth, Luca Vanello, Panos Profitis, this exhibition explores the concept of the “double”, it delves into the intersections of nature, mythology, and technology, offering a multi-faceted lens through which we can contemplate the complexities of human existence.

Anna Ruth’s work is atmospheric and imbedded in romantic medieval references, parts of character’s head or eyes are often depicted crying or in action of intense lamentation creating a psychological tension and linking us to our own introspection. Setting here a particular focus on the relationship dynamics between characters in her scenes and their mirrored reflections in water, those Narcis figures prompt viewers to ponder the complexities inherent of the psychological construction of the self. Quoting the dual ambiguity of our personalities those character seemed frozen action of self-meditation. Navigating further the intricate web of interpersonal relationships depicted, the presence of a mythical characters like Harpies in Ruth’s body of work adds depth to the theme of duality.

Using architectural elements to structure the composition, Ruth’s blurs further the limit of her the paintings and our physical space, often reproducing those elements in the space and some artefacts. Here the heterotopy is emphasized by some mirrored doubles placed in specific corners of the gallery space to further enhances the uncanniness resulting from the duplication of subject inside the painting’s field.

Luca Vanello’s sculptures and installations envisions a symbiosis between organic elements and synthetic materials revealing the impressive beauty of vegetal structures but also critically showing the danger and limits of a possible dystopian future. As the boundaries between ecosystems and organisms are now being challenged more than ever, his innovative sculptural pieces crafted from salvaged branches and leaves of plants offer a unique possible future state where this limit would have been exceeded. What if the intersection of nature and technology could create a different kind of life?

Through a meticulous process Vanello’s is able to extract and replace the plant’s fluids with resins, this process results into the extraction of chlorophyll and to create a preserved faded artefact, almost mummified residue of the vegetal body resembling bird feathers of an alien biosphere. The display and hanging of these skeletons in space emphasizes the transformative process resulting in a peculiar duality that blurs the lines between the natural and the artificial. His sculptures invite the viewer to reconsider the boundaries of the uncanny double that has been created and could now potentially create new forms of harmony and coexistence between the organic world and the man-made environment. In doing so, they provoke conversations about the evolving relationship between the ecological spheres of the Anthropocene.

Panos Profitis, a Greek artist, brings a historical and mythological dimension to the concept of duality. Drawing inspiration from both Hellenistic Greece and the rationalist period of the late 1920s, his cast aluminum sculptures inhabit a potential fictional theatrical stage created for the viewer. Profitis infuses his works with architectural precision and geometric forms activating the space as a scenography or a field of a potential scenery. By combining these versatile materials with manufactured modern artefacts and structures such as ladders or prefabricated pipes or found objects he fuses the timeless historical references, satirical faces, tongues eyes and bodies. Ultimately, he creates a dialogue between past and present, tradition and innovation. Through this fusion of styles and narratives, Profitis encourages viewers to reflect on the enduring influence of the past on nowadays socio-political struggles and propaganda. Profitis’s art stands as a testament to the enduring power of mythic narratives and socio-political lineage while heralding a new chapter in the exploration of form, symbolism, and cultural heritage in the realm of contemporary sculpture.

It is in this collision of diverse perspectives and creative voices that the true essence of the exhibition emerges, inviting viewers to engage in a dialogue that transcends individual works and converges into a shared experience of the broad artistic expression of duality that ultimately aims to transcend individual narratives.