The Municipality of Elefsina, Eleusis 2020-2023 Cultural Capital of Europe and the P.A.K.P.A.A.’s Department of Culture jointly hosted Danae Stratou’s exhibition Elements at the ‘Leonidas Kanellopoulos’ Cultural Centre in Eleusis.
Elements records and documents aspects of Danae Stratou’s installation Upon the Earth Under the Clouds (currently on show at the Eleusis Old Oil Mill) in a way that communicates with the artist’s previous works, which focus on elements of the natural and human environment.
Elements of nature and humankind’s dwelling on earth, two recurring motifs in Danae Stratou’s body of work, are the common theme underscoring the video installations presented. Thanks to the immediacy of image and sound, it becomes apparent that certain installations co-exist with the documentation of the process, forming an integral part of the final piece. Moreover, the video documenting the creation of Desert Breath is presented for the first time (First Floor). One of the largest pieces of Land Art in the world, Desert Breath was created by D.A.S.T (D. Stratou, S. Constantinides, A. Stratou) in 1997, in the Egyptian desert.
The exhibition aims to explore and further facilitate the understanding of the multiple aspects of a work of art, as well as the particularities of site-specific installations, with reference to Upon the Earth Under the Clouds, one of the first artworks to be produced by Eleusis on its journey as Cultural Capital of Europe.
Along this theme, a short video documents the production process of Upon the Earth Under the Clouds, from the construction of the clay pots at the pottery workshop in Crete through to its installation and completion. Drawings and photographs from the construction phase, the people participating in the project, the installation in its final form – all combine to convey as complete a picture as possible of how an idea originates and develops until it becomes a fully realized, complex work of art. They do so in a way that does not mimic but complements the installation, adding a different perspective (Ground Floor).