To Know a City by Sarah Attwood

Artist list

Sarah Attwood

When we travel, we're armed with preconceptions from our own country. We often miss out the very people that shape the place we're in, and instead focus on ticking off bucket list sites.
/Sarah Attwood

The laurel wreath, a well known ancient Greek status symbol and a popular item of fancy dress in the UK, is the starting point. During her One-Artist-A-Week residency, Attwood reclaims and redesigns it to enable her a personal dialogue with the locals.

Each sculptured wreath is worn by an Athenian Attwood met in the street and photographed in front of an emblematic Athens location. Attwood's solo show in Π Artworks, a charming downtown vintage art&crafts venue, enables visitors to retrace the personal encounters through the exhibited photos and objects.

In Ancient Greece, the winners of athletic or drama competitions were crowned with a wreath made of a laurel, myrtle, oak or olive tree branch corresponding to Apollo's, Aphrodite's, Zeus' or Athena's sacred flora. The wreaths reflected the divine qualities of the respective gods.

Golden wreaths - masterpieces of Greek jewellery art - were only worn on very special occasions and served as offerings (ex-votos) to the gods or were buried/cremated with the dead owner. The concept of the deceased crowned for being a winner in the race of life was also reflected in the latter custom.

One of the most famous golden wreaths was the one worn by Philip of Macedonia, found in his royal tomb in Vergina (Greece). Golden wreaths already existed in classical Greece, although the majority of findings date to the period following the military conquests of Philip's son Alexander, who made Greek language and culture dominant in the area now known as Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The fusion of Greek with the local oriental cultures and the resulting art, aesthetics and world view that emerged is called hellenistic.

The AIR+Exhibition program is curated by ZLR Betriebsimperium. For more information on the FaveLAB Residency Programme Athens addressing artists, designers, performers, crafters, art theorists go to:
http://www.christophziegler.com/favelab/