REPUBBLICA DI CIPRO
Michael Panayiotis, Konstantia Sofokleous
Commissario: Loulli Michaelidou. Curatore: Chus Martinez. Commissario aggiunto: Stavroula Andreou
Sede: Palazzo Malipero, San Marco 3198 (San Samuele)


The Cyprus pavilion for this year's Venice Biennale presents Konstantia Sofokleous (1974) and Panayiotis Michael (1966), two artists whose works for the pavilion comprise drawings on paper, wall interventions and animations. Both artists research how every one of us is a rational actor carrying subjective rights and private inclinations in societies transformed into a Gravy Planet - a place were you are not allowed to miss the gravy train.

Although the exhibition is based on two individual presentations, the full project must be seen from the viewpoint of a shared aim: to investigate mechanisms that allow us to locate our universe of private worries within the public sphere. By working in a very personal manner and based on the study of how each of us perceives and acts in socio-political and geographical situations that define our daily lives, both artists have striven to find meaningful resources in order to create a space where new values acquire form.

Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland and a Popular Children's Poem are the two animated pieces on which Konstantia Sofokleous' installation is based, together with a large series of wall drawings.

Panayiotis Michael - under the general title of I promise, You Will Love me Forever- has chosen different works on paper and murals that combine many issues, primarily focusing on how collective action produces public good.

Chus Martínez is an Art critic and Curator at Sala Rekalde (www.salarekalde.net), a public space in Bilbao dedicated to promoting and raising awareness on contemporary artistic practices. She lives and works in Bilbao, Spain.

Panayiotis Michael was born in Nicosia in 1966. He studied Graphic Arts and Design at the Moscow Academic Art Institute, and Painting at Queens College, New York. Since 1994 he has presented his work in many solo and group shows, in his home country and abroad. He has represented Cyprus in the Rijeka Biennale of Croatia (1998) and the 20th Alexandria Biennale in Egypt (1999), where he was awarded the Jury Prize. Michael is co-founder of Artrageous, (www.artrageousgroup.com), an artist group created in 2004 with the purpose of creating a social-political manifestation that focuses on the role of the artist as an agent of public awareness within a contemporary art context. During the past few years, he lives and works in Nicosia. In Venice, the artist will be showing a series of drawing collages.

Konstantia Sofokleous was born in Limassol in 1974. She studied Graphic Design at the Technological Education Institute of Athens and Internet Technologies at New York University. This year she is to conclude her Master´s degree in Computer Animation at the University of Westminster, London. During the past few years she has participated in various European and international programmes for young artists. Since 1997 she has been working in the field of Graphic Design and Web and Multimedia Development. In Venice, Sofokleous will present two animation movies, traditional and experimental, as well as drawings and storyboards created during the production phase (www.konstantiasofokleous.com).


The presentation of Cyprus will be accompanied by a 96-page publication - distribution by Revolver Verlag and texts by Chus Martínez, Lars Bang Larsen and Sarah Lowndes.

The participation of the Republic of Cyprus at the Biennale of Venice is organised and sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Special Thanks to the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), KEO Group, and the team of Cypriot Fashion Designers, for their contribution in the promotion of the Cyprus Pavilion in Venice.