HermAphrodite

A tribute to Diversity
Εrmoupolis - Syros island
11-13 September 2020

In the courtyard of the Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary

A magical moment. Queer and non-queer artists, along with activists from the Romanian LGBTQI organization “Accept”, united into a community with the people that attended the event. Young heterosexual and homosexual couples, residents of Ermoupolis of all ages and social classes, artists, thinkers, activists, tourists, experienced Queer aesthetics and LOATKI history as an open experience for all. Due to the Pandemic health restrictions and according to the Greek Ministry of Health recommendations, all participants pre-reserved their seat.

Performances in the courtyard of the Church of Assumption [Kimisis]:

«Α Neutral Reading”, Performance, Participatory Installation-Athina Kanellopoulou

Athina Kanellopoulou is an interdisciplinary artist, born in 1985. She has a wide background in fine arts and new media, virtual reality, while she owns a master degree in technologies of image. Her pieces have been presented in multiple art exhibitions, festivals and art fairs such as Feminist Border/University Museum of Contemporary Art Mexico, Laval Virtual/Musee Ecole de Perrine etc. For the "HermAphrodite Pre-Festival" production, Athina will present a performamnce in the magical courtyard of the Church of the Assumption (Kimisis)

Beginning from the ideal of Love, visual artist Athina Kanellopoulou creates a narrative performance through a collage of classical literature, ending to a ritualistic installation with the horizontal participation of the spectators.

“Προς Συριανούς ”, Performance – Thomas Diafas

Thoma Diafas is a performance artist, writer and language teacher. He has studied cinema, theatre and Spanish literature and through his work, he explores the boundaries between literature and performance art. He has participated in multiple exhibitions and art projects, such as in Thessaloniki Queer Arts Festival, Marina Abramovic Institute etc.

Thomas Diafas participates in this year's production, "HermAphrodite Pre-Festival" both as a performer and as a Moodboard creator, which will be exhibited for three days 11,12,13 September in the window diplay at Armadillo cafe, in Historic Ermoupolis.

Regarding his performance, Diafas created a modern (Christian) manifesto that inspires love for all with the aim of inspiring acceptance and the need for coexistence in a fairer society. Behind this idea there was the desire for a church that uses modern discourse addressed to young people, giving strength and not exuding hatred and aphorism. In this way, it reminds the human species that everything is fluid and subjective, and that we are all equally vulnerable.

“Hatsune Miku- Zehra” , Musical performance- Katerina Goti (aka Viscosity)

Katerina Goti is a student artist on the 8th semester, at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Starting at 2017, she has also done various drag performances in clubs of Athens and abroad. Her drag name is Dame V (or Viscosity).

Viscosity participates also in this year's production, "HermAphrodite Pre-Festival" both as a performer and as a Moodboard creator, which will be exhibited for three days 11,12,13 September in the dispaly window at Materia Memoria store , in Ermoupolis [around the Apollo Theater].
Her performance, it’s a short narrative through an audio track, Hatsune Miku's "Zehra". This is a combination of Sophia Vempo’s war song “Paidia tis Ellados” and the song Zehra, sung by a Japanese digital singer. Hatsune Miku is a software artist, based on fanmade videos and music.
This “shell” helps the creator to get whatever identity they want. Bringing a non-human voice but also an animal and hybrid appearance that can be hardly identified, Viscocity will represent a music and dance invocation for hope and strength.