In August 2009, in the context of the International Year of Astronomy, we realized an international municipal pinacotheque, in the form of a constellation, in the mountainous village Gergeri, on the island of Crete in Greece: The traditional watermills were turned into art rooms and the streets of the village were covered, by the local youth, with star constellations, linking the different spots of the exhibition, like Ariadne’s thread in the mythical Cretan labyrinth.
The inauguration, which lasted two days, was interrupted by a meal in the Forest of Rouvas, a sanctuary of wild life on the southeastern flanks of Mt Ida.
It was an immersive experience in infinite tufts of hollies, platans, cypresses, cretan orchideas and cyclamens, witnessed by the numerous inhabitants of the forest like the Cretan wildcat (Felis silvestris), the asvos (Meles meles), the weasel, the hare (Lepus europaeus), the Mioxos (Mouse-squirrel – Glis Glis Argenteus), the spiny mouse (Acomys minys), the shrew (Crocidura zimmermanni), the lizard (Chalcides ocellatus), the frog (Rana tiribunda) and the snail (Helix aspersa), in the company of raptor vultures (Gyps fulvus), the solitary Vitsila, the Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). red-tailed hawks (Buteo-buteo), chukars (Alectoris graeca), chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs), goldfinches (Carduelis - carduelis), woodcocks (Scalopax rusticola), bees and colourful butterflies
The meal in the Forest of Rouvas was followed by a dessert at the Vromolimni {the dirty lake}; ground recession caused by the fall of a meteorite and situated one km from the inhabited area. There are many small holes around this area, in the shape of inverted cones, known as ‘chonia’, signs of a shower of meteorites. The Vromolimni was full of aquatic turtles, watersnakes, Cretan frogs and rare wild birds.
The opening ended in the company of the shepherds self- made musical organs, in the yard of an old school where the museum of natural history is situated.
The Gergerians had hosted us in an arch of biodiversity. This is how we moved, from 2009 the year of Astronomy, to 2010 the year of Biodiversity.
see also Gergerian Experience, Artooth.gr-articles.
galerists, artits and local residents dancing on the flanks of legendary Mt. Ida
The international artists who participated in the Gargling Sky 09 exhibition and whose works remained in the permanent collection of the Municipality of Rouvas, were: France : Dellavilla, Bechara, Fournier Claudine, Jaquemart Michel, Legrand Marie-Pierre, Levine Colette, Métier Monique, Bregent Edwige, Monreal Rafael, Picazo Sara, Romero Miriam, Soler Estela, Vial Magdalena, Winter Sonia ( members of K-Droz, Paris)
Italy: Daniela Tomerini, Fausta Squatriti, Alberto Schiavi, Luisella Carretta, Alberto Casiragay (Poesia e Spiritualita review), Angioletta Denitto {Primo Piano LivinGallery},Cristina Gori, Alessandro Cardinale and Piero Ferroglia
Romania: Virginia Videa, Gheorghe Zaharia, Grama Gabriel Valemtin
Iceland: Dadi Guobjornsson,
India: Dev Udaiyan
Australia: Annee Kelly
Lebanon: Lena Kelekian, Hilda Kelekian, Hagop Sulahian
Carabeans: Roopnarine Geeta
Canada: Houle Daniel JAYD, Houle Easton, Roche David
Corea: Ruy Ilseon, Ruy Ilji
USA, NY: Hera,. Khurshid Saleem
Greece: Georges Syrakis, Gefso Papadaki, Basiliki Sofra, Giota Vorgia, Antonis Papantoniou and Agelika Korovessi, from Athens. Christos Alevras from Thesaloniki and Manolis Prinianakis, Rena Mataliotaki, Athena Tsiblostefanaki and Chrysa Vathianaki from Crete
We thank them and we hope to host their works in the new exhibition PAI "The aion is a Pai {Child} playing, tossing dice, the Kingdom is the Child's" which will take place in Thraki and Samothraki, organised by the EPOFE, Union of the Cultural Associations of Evros.
The Gargling Sky event was curated by Polyxene Kasda{Athens},Chrysa Vathianaki{Crete} with the cooperation of K-Droz {Paris}, Poesia e Spiritualita review {Milano} and Primopiano Livingallery{Lecce}
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| Poly Kasda, Zefiiroula drifting calamity |
Antonis Papantoniou, for Gargling Sky,Greece
