Untitled (Despina Christou, exhibition «Everyday Hellas»)
Category: Visual Arts > Group exhibition
| Artist: | Despina Christou |
|---|---|
| Curator: | Heather Couris |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Genre: | Installation | Painting |
| Host: | Athens Municipal Art Center |
| Place: | Athens |
Censorship incidents
| 2004 | Removal of an “Untitled” work by Despina Christou
|
Description
The triptych collage on canvas by Despina Christou, from the series Apokosmi Poli [Eerie City], was to be exhibited as part of the group exhibition ‘Everyday Hellas’ in 2004. One of the work’s three panels depicted a street scene with a priest kissing a young boy in the foreground. Fearing the reactions that the work could elicit from religious groups, the municipal authority asked the curator and the artist to either withdraw the work or cancel the exhibition. Despite extensive efforts to find a compromise (the curator suggested that only the offending panel be withdrawn, with the other two panels left on display), the entire work was eventually withdrawn from the exhibition. In its place, the artist put up a statement declaring: ‘Despina Christou’s work has been withdrawn on the grounds that it might offend the religious beliefs of some people.’
Sources – Bibliography
- Yannis Ziogas, “Acts of Visual Censorship”, in D. Christopoulos, L. Karabinis, Y. Stavrakakis, Y. Ziogas (eds.) Aspects of Censorship in Greece, Athens: Nefeli 2007.