hypersurfacing

NiMAC (The Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, associated with the Pierides Foundation), presents hypersurfacing—a project curated by Marina Christodoulidou.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of NiMAC, the project seeks to showcase the plurality of practices among a group of Cypriot contemporary artists, and will unfold via two platforms: an exhibition and a forum.

The exhibition, opening on November 29, 2019, will present a new body of work by the participating artists: Raissa Angeli, Peter Eramian, Stelios Kallinikou, Lito Kattou, Phanos Kyriacou, Orestis Lazouras, Nayia Savva, Constantinos Taliotis, Maria Toumazou, Leontios Toumpouris, Marina Xenofontos, and Natalie Yiaxi.

“Hypersurface” is a term originally used to describe a set of relationships that behave as means of exchange. As Stephen Perrella writes: “the term hypersurface is not a concept that contains meaning but is an event; one with a material dimension. We are currently at the threshold of this new configuration as a site of emergence for new intensities of culture and intersubjectivity.” Surface is understood here as a site of emergence where material and conceptual exchanges enable artists to articulate thoughts. It stands as the most directly apparent aspect of our environment, material or immaterial, and emerges, hence, as a process of becoming perceptible. The state of being hyper, on the other hand, presupposes a mode of over-being. And when it meets the surface, the hyper opens up to possibilities beyond materiality and signification.

Featuring photography, film, sculpture, sound, text, and site-specific installations, the exhibition evolves around the concept of the surface, foregrounding its inherent presence in the work of the artists. Taking the notion of the hypersurface as a starting point, the exhibition sets out to explore the prospects that arise when one witnesses an event or a process of anticipation. To do so, the artists have posited the hypersurface in their own areas of interest and research, and delved into subjects ranging from natural and urban landscapes to autobiographical and imaginary relationships, material and immaterial studies, fact and fiction. Hence, the works presented in the exhibition are both a response to and—in many ways—a reverberation of hypersurfacing.

The forum invites a diverse group of curators: Ioanna Gerakidi, Ryan Inouye, Katarina Kostandinović, Luca Lo Pinto, Salma Tuqan, and Andrés Valtierra will activate a space for creative exchanges and meetings, in collaboration with the curator and participating artists. Visual artist Natascha Sadr Haghighian will run a workshop of walking sessions and conversations that evolve from experiencing spaces and engaging in deep listening. 

The project and the accompanying events will culminate in a publication featuring essays by Misal Adnan, Marina Christodoulidou, Eoin Dara, Ioanna Gerakidi, Mattia Giussani, Ryan Inouye, Jesi Khadivi, Carlos Kong, Katarina Kostandinović, Luca Lo Pinto, Francis McKee, Ceel Mogami de Haas, Edwin Nasr, Yiannis Toumazis, Andrés Valtierra and Andreas Vrahimis.

Forum public programme

Exhibition as language/space/agency for contradicting ideas, forms, and experiences
Talk by Luca Lo Pinto
Saturday, November 16, 2019, 11am

“hit me baby one more time” or “a letter to my future self”
Talk by Katarina Kostandinović
Wednesday, November 27, 2019, 7pm

A listening for subverted witnessings
Artists’ talks, moderated by Ioanna Gerakidi
Saturday, November 30, 2019, 4pm

Fiction and poetry as curatorial devices
Talk by Andrés Valtierra
Friday, December 13, 2019, 7pm

“Haptic” surfaces: pedagogy and entanglement
Talks by Natascha Sadr Haghighian and Ryan Inouye
Friday, January 24, 2020, 7pm

Book launch
Talks by Marina Christodoulidou and Salma Tuqan
Saturday, February 29, 2020, 11am

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Services of the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. Special thanks to Eurobank Cyprus, Goethe-Institut, and the Embassy of Austria in Cyprus for their partnership.