Foam born: exhibition reshuffles Aphrodite and the Pomegranate

The upcoming exhibition Foam Born is the result of a three-week artist residency of artistic duo Peles Empire at eins gallery in Limassol, where artists Barbara Wolff and Katharina Stöver deal with the Cyprus-born goddess Aphrodite.

Peles Empire dissect and reshuffle the supposedly original meaning of somewhere (like the Romanian castle Peleș), something (like a specific form of architecture), or someone (like Cleopatra or Aphrodite) to question what time and culture has made of it.

In the upcoming exhibition, opening on Saturday, different versions, interpretations and elements relating to Aphrodite, such as the pomegranate, are combined in trompe l’oeil manner, printed on silk and partly framed in copper. Cyprus was once the principal site of copper mining, giving it its name and also represents one of the materials associated with Aphrodite.

“Aphrodite has, like Cleopatra, a tainted image and was a starting point for research,” explain the organisers. “She has been the subject of art, mythology and fantasy for millenia. Mostly from a male perspective; giving her a passive rather than an active role. Throughout the centuries her representation has shifted; from bird-like or penile clay figurines to bearded representations, or, famously, to Botticelli’s depiction.

“So, too, has her meaning shifted. The partly demonised, partly sexualised perception of Aphrodite is a more recent development; it ignores that for the ancients Aphrodite was a patron not simply for lust, but for a lust for life. An aspect often unmentioned is that she was the goddess of Mixis, celebrating sexuality in its diversity and helping humans to live together.”

Aphrodite is also said to have planted the first pomegranate tree in Cyprus. The fruit itself has a long historical trail of references, including the suspicion of it being the ‘apple’ Eve plucked from the tree in the Garden of Eden. Notions of guilt about curiosity, sexuality and female expression accompany both Aphrodite and the Pomegranate.

In past work, Peles Empire have investigated the mythological or re-written histories – Cleopatra, for example, and the global presence of prehistoric clay figurines with comparable meanings.

Paper, concrete, tiles and cast stone are part of the artists’ repertoire of materials. The components are overlaid, printed, deformed and mixedStarting from photography as a medium to depict spacial relations in a two-dimensional way, the play between two-dimensional and three-dimensional reproduction is a constant in the work of Peles Empire.

Foam born

Exhibition by artistic duo Peles Castle. April 17-May 8. Eins gallery, Limassol. Monday-Friday: 4pm-8pm. Saturday:11am-4pm. Tel: 99-522977