Sight, Delos, Greece
Curated by Iwona Blazwick OBE, Director, Whitechapel Gallery and Elina Kountouri, Director NEON.
Sight, organised and commissioned by NEON, is a site-specific exhibition in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades on the Greek archaeological island of Delos and in its Museum. It marks the first time that an artist has taken over the site since the mythological island was inhabited over 5,000 years ago.
In this installation, Gormley repopulates the island with iron ‘bodyforms’, restoring a human presence and creating a journey of potential encounters. He has installed 29 sculptures made during the last twenty years, including 5 specially made new works, both at the periphery of the island and integrated amongst Delos’s archaeological sites.
Gormley completely reinterprets the function and purpose of sculpture, transforming the traditional statues and totems of the ancient world that once adorned public squares, temples, and private dwellings into sites of empathy and imaginative projection. His sculptures, taking naturalistic, cubic, and more abstracted forms, either stand or lie on the ground, exposed to the elements. Interacting with the island’s topography, the works appear and disappear. They activate the elemental character of the island and its human history, establishing a connection with our collective memory.
On view until 31 October 2019
Opening Hours: Daily 8:00 - 20:00
Opening hours may vary depending on the month. The island of Delos is accessible by boat mainly from Mykonos as well as Paros and Naxos Islands. There is no extra charge for entrance to the exhibition.
Photograph: Sight, Delos, Greece. Installation view. Photograph © Oak Taylor Smith. Courtesy NEON; Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades and the artist.