You might be surprised to know that there are many hidden art studios all around the historic city centre of Groningen and visual artist Eleni Tsompanidou is one of the lucky people to claim one as her own. Tucked away on top of the historic building of Galerie Block C and the foundation ARTisBOOK is where Eleni works on her art and her many other intriguing practices. We spoke to her just as she is preparing work for an upcoming exhibition.
"Originally I am from Dikea, a small village in the north of Greece. Besides that it's located on the bank of the river Evros, it's location is extra remarkable because it's close to the border of Bulgaria and Turkey. Even for Greek standards it is a very traditional village with very strict ideas on how things should be done. One of the reasons as to why I decided to study Fine Art at the Academy Minerva in the Netherlands was that I craved a radically different environment from my own and the cultural differences really appealed to me. On a personal level I sometimes struggled with these differences in social customs when I moved here, but slowly they also became part of my art practice and I try to see how these two worlds can enter into a dialogue with one another.
My art practice is by nature very diverse and mostly research based. I collaborate a lot with other people and make use of performance, film and different types of printed matter. In my work I try to develop new platforms which could be used to facilitate all sorts of debates. One example of this is the project that I am working on right now, which has the subject of 'mourning'. In this project I try to stimulate a debate about the ways in which different cultures and societies deal with the mourning process. In contrast to the Netherlands, there are many customs, rituals and platforms in Greece where you are free to express and give space to your mourning. In the Netherlands however, you might get a few days off from work and afterwards you are expected to return and continue to work and function normally.
“I try to stimulate a debate about the ways in which different cultures and societies deal with the mourning process”
During my residency, which took place in November 2020, I started a mail exchange in which we all shared our experiences of grief with each other. Usually I engage in a lot of co-creation with other people, but sadly enough my residency took place right when the pandemic started and public events were out of the question. Thankfully, the mail exchange was naturally corona proof and proved to be an excellent and intimate way to collaborate with other people. After the residency ended, I had a lot of data and other materials and was left with many questions and an urge to continue this project. Therefore I decided to design a unique book which has the title Dear transient, a miroloi for you. But rather than simply bundling all the pages into a straightforward book, this book unfolds into a big art piece, which is an experience by itself. It's a unique experience which turns the viewer into a participant and by doing so it invites that person to engage with the work both mentally and physically. It creates a new opportunity to perpetuate the discussion and look at things from a new angle.
Besides my practice as a visual artist I am also part of the daily board of ARTisBOOK. This role is very much in line with my artistic practices since they mainly focus on books and printed matter, which both feature a lot in my visual work. Currently I am also setting up a residency in Dikea together with visual artist Eleni Voultsidou, who also originates from my village. For the residency we are bringing together artists from Greece and the Netherlands and we are introducing them to this unique environment. The emphasis of the residency will be on research rather than expecting the artists to come up with specific results. I am very curious to bring all of this together and see what comes out of it. After all, I am mostly interested in facilitating discussions and facilitating other artists is just as interesting and important to me as making visual art myself.
On March 25, 26 and 27, 'A bitter coffee of consolation' will take place in ARTisBOOK, a three-day living installation by Eleni Tsompanidou. With this she launches her latest work 'Dear transient, a miroloi for you', an artist book publication created in collaboration with Pieter Augustijn. For more information, see the website of ARTisBOOK.