THIRÍO // 2018

thirío
/θiː'riːɒ/

Greek noun, gender non-specific

// a bloodthirsty animal [beast]
// a monstrously naughty child [beastie]
// a cruel and savage human [brute]
// a truly ginormous being [behemoth]
// a fiercely ambitious go-getter [eager beaver]
// someone devilishly good at something [badass]

 

// an independent being beyond the limits of a structured scenic universe

Larger than life in every sense, body wrapped tight in a second skin of glistening black.

Liberated: to live inside an exhibition, or liven an award show, or lecture an audience, or let loose on a night out, or…

Ambition: limitless.

#thirío #ΘΗΡΙΟ #θηρίο #THIRÍO

// curatorial text // Athens Biennale AB6

Euripides Laskaridis slips between theatre, dance and performance in an act of resistance against the shelters of mainstream professionalisation. His impersonations of mutated bodies inhabit artificial worlds: Fellinian universes of self-love and self-ridicule.

With THIRÍO, Laskaridis reveals the in-process creation of a persona to haunt the Athens Biennale exhibition building, developing a character trapped inside the space and forced to confront fantasies, driving forces, and fears in an attempt to offer complex answers to myriad ambiguous layers of personal desire.

The notion of contemporary art becomes overblown inside this creature’s head. THIRÍO longs for the art crowd’s love yet acts the victim, convinced of the art crowd’s hate. Devises opening and closing and other ceremonies. Gives AB6 open access to a working studio space, but spills out of these confines at will to attend nearby discussions and events. Materialises via moments of self-vanishment.

#thirío #haunted #trapped #persona #loved #victim

// where & when

GREECE // ATHENS // Athens Biennale AB6 // 26 October – 9 December 2018
[first work-in-progress presentation]

GREECE // ATHENS // Greek Queer Theatre Awards 2018 // 29 November 2018
[guest appearance, picking up the TITANS prize for Best Set & Costume Design on behalf of Euripides Laskaridis]

// project info

THIRÍO // 2018
// an independent being beyond the limits of a structured scenic universe
// duration ongoing & variable

created & performed by // Euripides Laskaridis

costume design // Angelos Mentis
voice design // Coti K.
dramaturgy consultant // Alexandros Mistriotis
artistic collaborator // Kyriacos Karseras

set & costume assistant // Ioanna Plessa
production assistants // Mario Banushi & Angeliki Poulima

documentation // Dimitris Triandafyllou & the team

commissioned by // Athens Biennale AB6 [GR] 
co-produced by // Athens Biennale AB6 [GR] & the OSMOSIS performing arts company [GR] 

special thanks to // Dimitris Papaioannou, Socratis Socratous, Loukas Bakas, Dina Tsichli, Zoe Mouschi, Natasha Sarantopoulou & Andy Tzoumas

// see also

SELF-PORTRAITS