Oedipus in search of Colonus

Overview

At the 59th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2022, Loukia Alavanou represents Greece with the exhibition Oedipus in Search of Colonus curated by Heinz Peter Schwerfel.
The artist and filmmaker invites the audience to travel through time and space with a fifteen-minute VR360 film, a mix of documentary and fiction shot in the Roma community of Nea Zoi Aspropyrgos in Western Attica with amateur actors. The film is installed in a vaulted projection space that features special standing chairs based on designs by the late architect Takis Zenetos. The exhibition at the Hellenic Pavilion connects the work of Sophocles with contemporary social realities, highlighting overt political issues.
The catalog accompanying the exhibition contains introductory notes by Lina Mendoni, Nikolas Giatromanolakis and Lina Tsikouta, the editorial text by Heinz Peter Schwerfel, a discussion between Loukia Alavanou and the British art critic and psychoanalyst Darian Leader, a text by Giorgos Tzirtzilakis about Takis Zenetos and the work of Loukia Alavanou, and finally, research material for the installation at the Greek pavilion, as well as impressions/images from the pre-production stage of the VR360 film in the Nea Zoi slum.