Who skim Greece off? @Villa Iolas

iolas50

Performance/installation in the framework of the show “Let’s supper, Mr. Iolas/Resurrection RE”, Vila Iolas, July 2019. Curated by Erifyli Veneri and Naira Stergiou.

iolas26
iolas33
iolas30
iolas23

The title of the work, “who skim Greece off?” is taken from an old headline of a smear campaign against the famous modernist art collector Alexandros Iolas. This populist attack against Iolas was launched by the conservative Eleftheros Typos press, back in the 80s. Iolas, and his popular Vila, were targeted by various gossip newspapers that aimed to smear him as an illicit dealer of antiquities. Ironically, the gossip journalists were aided by a Greek cross-dresser, a former protégé of Iolas renowned as Maria Callas. She visited the newspaper’s headquarters wearing a crinoline to deliver “evidence” against him. The moral panics of the Greek 80s caused the downfall of the famous art patron, whose health would start to deteriorate. 

The performance takes place on the classicist ornaments of the Vila’s garden. The protagonist, King Noobo, gestures in operatic grandeur while citing neologisms from online gamers’ community to describe the act of “collecting”, or “farming” virtual items. In certain moments, King Noobo sings melodies and lyrics from 70s Greek political parties’ anthems.

iolas20
iol4