If someone goes along the Athenian Avenue road towards Aspropyrgos and shortly before reaching the Daphnius Monastery, he will feel an unexpected… coolness. It is a microclimate that creates a large area of ​​greenery, as the forest of Chaydario extends into a huge garden, the existence of which, unfortunately, very few Athenians even know. However, these days, contemporary art and its own attractions are seeking to attract more people to the I. and A. N. Diomid Botanical Garden, as it is fully called, with the Protected Gardens exhibition, which runs there until October 9th.

Of course, this is not really an exhibition in the narrow sense of the word, but a hybrid visual program, in which more than 35 Greek and foreign artists, writers and performers participate. “The idea of ​​the exhibition came to me during quarantine, when I visited the garden, which I didn’t even know about before. The starting point of his theme is Hilda Doolittle’s 1916 poem of the same name on canopy gardens as places for reflection on the environment as well as questions of identity,” said the project’s art curator Kika Kiriakaku. during a tour organized for the press.

Voice of nature

The program is funded by the cultural organization Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI) and is under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. “This exhibition, in fact, is the voice of nature through the works. The environmental message is definitely conveyed more effectively through contemporary art,” said PCAI founder Thanasis Polychronopoulos. Indeed, walking along the shady paths of the garden, one can come across video art works that can be viewed on the spot with headphones, as well as other, more “ordinary” ones, such as a recording of small animals that live in the garden.

However, the dominant role here is played by the gender charge and, in general, the female artistic look, as it develops in all its manifestations. The roots of inspiration can be traced back to literature, in works such as Virginia Woolf’s early Kew Gardens, which focused on the London Botanic Gardens, or In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens (1983), where African-American creator Alice Walker expressed her concerns about the past, art, and identity at a troubled time for human rights in the US.

Upon entering Antonas’ impressive garden, one’s gaze rests on Marina Velisiotis’ The Queen in Her Dream Room. There, among the grass and flowers, the native tent, made of natural materials, harmonizes with the environment as if it had always been part of it, and at the same time evokes a sense of security, a home as ancient as the worship of the Earth Mother of the first human beings. civilizations.

Lost somewhere between thickets of exotic bamboo, interspersed with local pines and cypresses, the visitor still reflects on the relationship between man and nature, a topic that from any point of view – whether philosophical or practical – is absolutely relevant.

The Protected Gardens exhibition will run online at pcai.gr until November 30, 2022.