Page 39 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAG 2019

the edit

tHe new ecHoing tHe old
From top: Antony Gormley, Chute II (2018) is
conversing with the geology of Delos. NEON soul
Director Elina Kountouri with Antony Gormley,
next to Spread (2010). Gormley’s cubic Reflect and
(2017) seems eager to join the row of classical
columns. Installation view, SIGHT at the
archaeological site of Delos Island, 2019. gallery | mykonos

Antony Gormley has been hailed as one
of the five most powerful people in British
culture by The Daily Telegraph. He remains
refreshingly down-to-earth and considerate
despite a stellar career spanning nearly 40
years, during which he has received the Turner
Prize, joined the royal Academy, been made
an Officer of the British Empire, and was
knighted. Using the human form to attract
attention and urge viewers to connect with
their surroundings, his works have travelled
across the world, often placed permanently in
open-air locations. They include the renowned
Angel of the North (1998), Model (2012) and
Event Horizon (2007).
It is perhaps fitting that Delos’s name was once
“Adelos” – meaning one which can’t be seen.
Myth has it that Zeus, the king of the gods,
made it visible so that his lover leto could
find refuge there to give birth to twin gods
Apollo and Artemis. could some of Gormley’s
bodyforms could be seen as representing these
ancient Olympians? Or perhaps they are
ghosts of the residents, priests and visitors of
this now uninhabited place – or even modern-
day visitors like ourselves, looking to witness
the ancient glory… Does human presence
change how we experience Delos? Does
contemporary art affect our appreciation of
time-honoured, historic landmarks?
Such potent questions are being posed and
perhaps answered by this ambitious exhibition,
which is in fact the first ever contemporary
artwork to get the green light to be displayed
on Delos. “Our goal”, says Head of the
Ephorate Dr Demetrios Athanasoulis to The
Guardian newspaper, “was to offer a new
way of interpreting our relationship with
antiquities through artworks that can act
as a catalyst to facilitate diverse readings of
the past”. The result is a genuinely singular
exhibition that adds new texture to the must-
visit archaeological site of Delos, located just Oak Taylor Smith | Courtesy of NEON; Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades and the artist.
a short boat trip from Mykonos.

SIGHT can be visited on the island of Delos
daily 08:00-20:00 until October 31st. Art And soul gAllery
Delos is accessible by boat mainly from 18, Mavrogeni str. Mykonos 84600, Greece
Mykonos as well as neighbouring islands T +30 22890 27244 Fax +30 22890 25278
Paros and Naxos. There is no extra charge info@mykonosgallery.com
www.mykonosgallery.com
for entrance to the exhibition. Instagram: art_and_soul_mykonos

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