The Diotima Centre and the Athens Development and Tourism Promotion Company – E.A.T.A. S.A. invite you to the opening of the photography installation “Her* visual field”, on Friday 24/11/2023, 7-10 pm at Circuits and Currents (13 Notara & Tositsa, Exarchia).
The exhibition, which takes place on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence, starts from the question: How can trauma be visually represented in ways that produce empowering narratives for the subjects?
Two photographers, Alexandra Masmanidi and Vera Hozzoglou, explore the possibility of challenging stereotypical depictions of experiences of gender-based violence, often presented through the gaze of the abuser.
The exhibition will run from 24-26/11/2023 (opening hours Fr: 7-10pm, Sat: 12-6pm, Sun: 12-8.30pm) and in the context of the exhibition the event “Rewriting the gaze – attempting an empowering representation of trauma” will take place on Sunday 26/11, 6pm, with speakers Elena Tzelepi (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Thessaly) and the curator of the exhibition Ioanna Zouli.
Note by the curator
Photographer Susan Meiselas, having focused part of her work on women and femininities who have suffered gender-based violence, says “Mediation means bringing their voices forward, with their deep knowledge.” In this context, she takes up mediation through alternative, non-sensitized images as an action that can be empowering, a process through which survivors’ voices and experiences can be given space and be heard.
In a similar direction, the photography installation “Her* visual field” explores the possibility of challenging stereotypical depictions of gender violence by approaching photography not simply as a representational medium but rather as a medium that can redefine the way in which discourse on these issues is produced.
The photographers invited to create new works for the exhibition propose visual narratives that emerge from stories of survivors as well as from their own personal experiences, giving space to both reflections and different paths of empowerment.
Alexandra Masmanidis, using techniques of scanography and collage, as well as material from her personal archive, composes new, almost surrealistic images that combine the human and the natural element and underline the circles of solidarity and the frames of support on a path towards visibility and hope.
In the art installation “to make a home, to be home, to feel home”, Vera Hotzoglou negotiates the home as a structured space of security or as a place that can sustain fear and insecurity. Through a composition of black and white and colour images and an abstract soundscape, contrasts are formed that coexist on difficult paths: calmness with tension, faith with hesitation, light with shadow.
Info
Photography Exhibition
FREE ADMISSION
Opening: 24/11/2023, 7pm
Duration: 24-26/11/2023
Opening hours: Fr: 7-10pm, Sat:12-6pm, Sun: 12-8.30pm
Venue: Circuits and Currents, 13 Notaras & Tositsa, Exarchia
Event-Discussion
26/11/2023, 6pm
Speakers
Elena Tzelepi, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Thessaly
Ioanna Zouli, Curator and Researcher, Center for New Media and Feminist Practices in Public SpaceCoordinator: Marianna Stefanitsi, Researcher, Department of Communications, Diotima Centre
** The action is implemented in the framework of the Act “Social Protection Network of Athens – Open Social Net”, which is co-funded by the OP “ATTIKI 2014-2020” and the European Social Fund (OPS code 5074888).
