Recognised as the premier contemporary dance event in Cyprus, the Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival returns with a rich programme featuring seven unique performances at the Rialto Theatre, with two also being staged at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre. The Cypriot participation will only be performed in Limassol and is an installation-exhibition by Suzana Phialas titled AiNA.

AiNa comes to life this Friday night at Rialto Theatre as an IRL simulation of the artist’s post-photographic AI body of work Performing anatomies. Phialas’ work and improvisations with the performers are based on images and videos of a custom AI model she has trained. The inception of AiNa marks the artist’s initial venture into creating an IRL simulation in the genre of performance/installation based on this AI model.

“I think the still image works as ‘microcosmic performances’ extracted from the fabric of daily existence,” says the artist. “Each image encapsulates mundane moments and familiar scenarios, seamlessly weaving together domestic interiors and outdoor settings. While universally relatable, these depictions are elevated by a nuanced interplay of wit and irony, infusing them with a distinctive flavour. The resulting amalgam is an assortment of absurd, illogical, and whimsically surreal episodes plucked from the canvas of ordinary life.”

Phialas blurs the lines between digital and physical worlds through her cross-media art. Her latest projects delve into hot-button issues of our times, including contemporary society, digital culture, emerging technologies, open-source protocols, and the exciting new realms of Artificial Intelligence, NFTs, and the metaverse.

AiNA

Suzana Phialas’ exhibition-installation-performance at the Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival. May 31. Rialto Theatre, Limassol. 8.30pm. €8. www.rialto.com.cy