01 of 17
02 of 17
03 of 17
04 of 17
05 of 17
06 of 17
07 of 17
08 of 17
09 of 17
10 of 17
11 of 17
12 of 17
13 of 17
14 of 17
15 of 17
16 of 17
17 of 17
Curator | Elina Kountouri, Director NEON
The National Observatory of Athens (NOA) was founded in 1842 on the Ηill of the Nymphs, across from the Parthenon, and is the oldest research institution in Greece. It currently consists of three institutes: one focusing on Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, one on Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, and one on Geodynamics. It operates an extensive network of research facilities, such as telescopes and various sensing stations, supporting high quality basic and applied research. NOA collaborates with universities both in Greece and abroad, offering advanced training to students and young researchers. It hosts the UNESCO Chair for Natural Disasters, it operates the National Seismological Network and participates in numerous international networks. The Visitor Centers and historic telescopes of NOA are open to the public and they are being used for numerous outreach activities throughout the year.
More information about the National Observatory of Athens here.
The Theater of Disappearance was a major site-specific installation by celebrated Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas, commissioned and organised by NEON. Villar Rojas is well known for his large-scale sculptural installations that radically disturb the sites he engages with. Through his work, he interrupts the status quo of artistic practice and behaviour within a museum, a site of cultural heritage, a rooftop or public space. He creates unpredictable settings for the visitor to explore, places where we feel uncomfortable or are astounded by the alternative histories he suggests. Concerned with ideas of disappearance, extinction, the passage and volatility of time, Villar Rojas creates a new, and often disconcerting, visual language.
Curated by Elina Kountouri, NEON’s Director, this project saw him negotiating with an archaeological site for the first time as he radically altered both the indoor and outdoor spaces of the National Observatory of Athens. The Observatory, established in 1842 on the Hill of the Muses adjacent to the Acropolis, underwent a complete transformation by the artist – architectural, horticultural and emotional.
More information about the installation The Theater of Disappearance here.
Installation Views | Photographs © Jörg Baumann, Panos Kokkinias, Natalia Tsoukala | Courtesy NEON
