Iasonas Kampanis

Traces of human presence, rather than its solid depiction, function as an acknowledgment of the animistic origins of religious worship, and the concept of “authorization” to the protective spirits of a place, the genii locorum of classical Roman religion.

His work entitled “Lalo”, presented alongside the exhibition of the Museum of Cycladic Art “Chaeronea, 2 August 338 BC: A day that changed the world”, is inspired by the Lion of Chaeronea, a funerary monument erected after the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. At that battle, the military skills of Alexander the Great were highlighted and contributed decisively to the victory. The head of the lion as a symbol of sovereignty comes into dialogue with the head of Alexander the Great depicted in the work of Andy Warhol and presented among others in the temporary exhibition on Chaeronea, emphasizing the conceptual structuring of the archetypal form and, by extension, the creation of an early celebrity in the history of human civilizations.

The evolution of the conquering practices of humans towards our species and by extension towards nature, gradually distanced us from its homogeneous, spiritual, and symbolic value, with the consequence that we compete with it by positioning it as controllable, fully expendable and constantly observed. Kampanis wants to bring back to the center of the discussion, our relationship with the other animals, our identification with them, and by extension, with nature. His primary motivation is in the renewal of our communication with the enduring character of a place, within the experience of the sacred, within the sense of universality and its sources, all of which we have abused to such an extent that we find it difficult to define ourselves outside of our anthropocentric evocations.

Iasonas Kampanis was born in 1985 in Athens, Greece, where he currently lives and works. He studied silversmithing and jewelry design at the Mokume Institute in Thessaloniki. Since 2007 he is working with painting, photography, digital media and scenographic works. His work and research are mainly based on themes and motifs related to the Mediterranean culture and to the tradition of painting. In 2020 he received the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship Award by ARTWORKS. He has collaborated and exhibited, among others, with the Breeder Gallery (Athens), Rebecca Camhi Gallery (Athens), curator Marina Fokidis, the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival and MoMus, KEIV (Athens), Victoria Square Project (Athens), kunsthallekleinbasel (Basel), architect Pulcheria Tzova, Onassis Stegi (Athens), director Maria Gaitanidi, actress Stacy Martin, Islington Arts Factory (London), Bishopsgate Institute (London), Lubomirov/Angus Hughes Gallery (London), Ligne Roset (London), Design Exchange magazine, London Print Studio (London), Christie’s Head of Prints & Multiples Murray Macaulay, Teloglion Art Foundation (Thessaloniki), performer Irina Osterberg, and zoologist Desmond Morris.