Project 08.05.12.16. at CYPHER Gallery: Eliza Krikoni focuses on the notion of danger, interweaving her roles as visual artist and performer.

In the project 08.05.12.16., presented at CYPHER Gallery from September 25 to October 12, Eliza Krikoni focuses on the notion of danger, the need for a call for help, and potential survival mechanisms, interweaving her roles as visual artist and performer.

What does danger look like?
Does it have a sound?
A smell?
Can you touch it?

For each individual, the answer to these questions is different, defining the lens through which they will approach and experience the exhibition. All the information is already encoded in the title, while the works themselves are activated and completed through audience interaction.

The body, sound, or narration play both symbolic and essential roles within the works, inviting visitors to interact with them in order to explore their messages and confront the emotions they provoke. The given instructions for decoding the visual, tactile, and sound elements are deliberately schematic, referring to the immediacy and non-verbal signals used to communicate emergency situations at sea. In this way, the works attempt to convey the element of danger through a tragicomic lens, reflecting the human need for communication and the search for help-often invisible, unspoken, or hidden behind the most unexpected or exuberant façade.

Biographies

Eliza Krikoni graduated from the Athens School of Fine Arts with a degree in Painting. In 2017 she completed an Erasmus exchange program at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, specializing in performance art. She has also engaged with sculpture, set design, and graphic arts, while attending workshops and seminars directed by Francesco Kiais, Marilyn Arsem, Eliza Soroga, Euripides Laskaridis, and Vera Iona Papadopoulou.

In her artistic research, she examines contemporary social phenomena with an emphasis on gender discrimination and its impact on the social fabric, often through a sarcastic tone. Her works are defined by symbolism that highlights the experiential process of creation, which often transcends the artwork itself, generating a parallel condition. Eliza explores and develops the concepts of corporeality, time, space, interaction, and participatory art, aiming to challenge audiences to step away from the role of spectator and become integral to the work. Through her practice, she seeks collective, conscious awakening and a holistic redefinition of existence.

Her work has been presented both in Greece (Kappatos Gallery Rooms – Athens 2019, #SKG Bridges – Thessaloniki 2018, Body and Citizenship – Athens 2018) and abroad (Museum of Now – Berlin 2020, Venice International Performance Art Week – Venice 2020, Excentricités – Besançon 2019). In spring 2024, she participated in Linder Sterling’s performance “Cut to the Chase” in Delphi, in collaboration with PCAI.

Elli Leventaki is an art historian, curator, and researcher. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Theory and History of Art at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Alongside her research, she is engaged in exhibitions, artistic programs, and cultural initiatives that highlight socio-political dynamics within contemporary art and critically address the invisible structures and principles of the Art World. Her work focuses on questioning dominant historical narratives and stereotypes, especially those stemming from national or patriarchal frameworks, while promoting gender issues through culture and advocating for labor rights in the arts.

She holds a degree in Art History and Theory, and an MA in Art History/Theory and Exhibition Curation from the Department of Fine Arts and Sciences of Art, University of Ioannina, as well as Adult Educator Certification from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Over the years, she has collaborated with various institutions, cultural organizations, festivals, and art programs. Her projects have been funded, among others, by the Ministry of Culture, the Ioannis F. Costopoulos Foundation, Culture Moves Europe, the Athens School of Fine Arts Research Committee, and the A. G. Leventis Foundation. She also writes for catalogues and academic publications and regularly participates in conferences and lectures in Greece and abroad. She currently serves as General Secretary of AICA Hellas (2024–2027), and is a member of the Association of Greek Art Historians, ICOM, the Board of Directors of Galeria Podbrzezie in Krakow, and the working groups Feminist Labour History and Precarious Labour of the ELHN.

CYPHER is an independent gallery founded in 2024 by Isabella Kladaki, dedicated to exploring contemporary art by promoting emerging artists.