ΤWO ISLANDS | Maria & Natalia Petschatnikov

Part 1: Greek Island

Beton7 Gallery presents the exhibition by Maria & Natalia Petschatnikov entitled Two Islands.

At the core of the artistic project “Two Islands” lies the investigation of the European identity and diversity. The artists would like to make a visual comparison between two islands: one in the Aegean Sea, - the "southern" island, and another in Karelia - the "northern" island. Both islands are located in Europe and yet they are worlds apart in terms of their climate, natural landscape, history. Their research will result in two exhibitions, one in Greece and one in Russia. 

In August 2016 we visited the island in Russia. Located in Ladoga - the biggest freshwater lake in Europe, the island Riekkalansari is one of the spectacular smaller northern islands in Karelia. The translation of the island's name from Karelian language means the "Greek island", which of course has played an intrinsic role in our choice. According to one of the versions the island got its name because of the orthodox ("Greek") church, which was built there in medieval times. The "Greek island" is about 55km large and has five small villages. Riekkalansari is very rocky and has two lakes. The area is rich with incredible formations of blue marble, which has been used for building and decorating grand palaces of St. Petersburg. The forests are full of wild mushrooms and berries and the local people take advantage of that. During different historical periods the island belonged to different countries: Novgorod-Russia, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Soviet Union. The islands' population consists of both- the native Karelian people as well as multinational descendants of people who inhabited the island during the Soviet era. Attempts to revive the Karelian language and culture are being made. 

Our impression of the island is full of contradictions. We are fascinated by the natural beauty of the place. No less visually interesting is the island's "deserted" character which in some way reflects it's history. We made an attempt to capture this feeling in a series of oil studies, photographs, recorded stories, as well as in a large scale site specific installation, developed for Beton7.

The choice of the Greek island is going to be determined during the exhibition in Beton7. We would like to invite the exhibition visitors to suggest "their island” as a counterpart to the "Greek Island" from Russia. One wall of the gallery will be left for their thoughts and ideas. We believe that this interactive aspect will make a project more interesting to the public and also help us to find the “real” Greek Island to match it's Northern partner so that we will be able to proceed with our comparative artistic research. Riekkalansari lies in the area, where the ancient trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks has started. We want to bring the "Greek island" to Greece and to tell its complex story. We would like to call the first part of the project: "The Greek Island" (implying both the island in Karelia and a potential island in Greece).

Two Islands Short from Beton7 Arts on Vimeo.

The twins Maria & Natalia Petschatnikov (*1973, St. Petersburg) work as an artist duo in the border region between painting and installation. The Petschatnikovs have received their education in the United States (Hunter College of the City University of New York) and in France (École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris). In their work they choose to focus on seemingly insignificant phenomena that are part of our daily lives. With imagination and wit, they manage to tease out new and surprisingly profound perspectives on the everyday world; they find the extraordinary within the ordinary. Maria & Natalia Petschatnikov have exhibited their work extensively throughout Europe and were recipients of various international scholarships and grants. They live and work in Berlin. 

TWO ISLANDS is the second exhibition of Maria and Natalia Petschatnikov at Beton7. In 2011 they brought an installation “Collecting the city” - a Berlin inspired visual exploration.

INFO

Artists: Maria & Natalia Petschatnikov

Opening: March 2, 2017, 20:00

Duration: from March 2 -24, 2017

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 14:00 to 19:00

Beton7 | Pydnas 7 Votanikos-Athens 11855 (metro station Kerameikos)

tel .: + 30 210 7512625 | www.beton7.com - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.