Curator | Iwona Blazwick, Director, Whitechapel Gallery

NEON and the Whitechapel Gallery present the exhibition Terrapolis in the garden of the French School at Athens – the first time, since being established as an archaeological institute in 1846, that the French School has opened its garden to the general public.

In Terrapolis the garden provides the backdrop for works of art that reconnect the human with the animal. Echoing the satyrs, sphinxes and centaurs of classical Greek statuary, this display of contemporary sculptures, installations and films draws on myth, drama and the animal kingdom to suggest a ‘bioethics’ for the 21st century.

‘Terrapolis’, a term coined by science philosopher Donna Haraway, combines the Latin ‘terra’ for earth, with the Greek ‘polis’ for city or citizens.  This show asks whether we should regard animals as citizens and how processes of nature, such as metamorphosis, relate to the creation of art. Do mythic narratives resonate in contemporary society? And can we recalibrate our relationship with other species?

Co-curated by  Iwona Blazwick with the NEON Organization, Terrapolis is the second in a three-part series of outdoor art projects bringing important artists – Greek and international – into the public realm. It is the latest collaboration undertaken by NEON as part of its mission to activate public space through art and introduce ’unknown’ historical locations to the general public.

Artists include: Caroline Achaintre,  Allora & Calzadilla, Francis  Alÿs, Joseph Beuys, Huma Bhabha, Reg Butler, Lynn Chadwick, Marcus Coates, William Cobbing, Enrico David, Charlotte Dumas, Angus Fairhurst,  Studio Ghibli, Tue Greenfort, Asta Gröting, Lucy Gunning, Henrik Håkansson,  Anthea Hamilton & Nicholas  Byrne,  Joan Jonas, Markus Karstieß, Yayoi Kusama, Oliver Laric, Richard Long, Sarah Lucas, Ruth Maclennan, Chris Marker, Marlie Mul, Katja Novitskova, Anatoly Osmolovsky, Norbert Prangenberg,  Ugo Rondinone, Peter Wächtler.

New commissions are specially made by: Athanasios Argianas, Eleni Kamma, Dionisis Kavallieratos, Aliki Palaska, Kostas Sahpazis.