March 2026 - transpolia

An opportunity⋮ precedes syntax.

…an opportunity for communication
that is both seductive and mysterious,
the tenor of which lies beyond the alphabet
and precedes syntax.

Manto Aravantinou on the Manuscripts of Niki Kanagini (date unknown)

…τη δυνατότητα μιας σαγηνευτικής όσο και μυστηριώδους επικοινωνίας,
που το στίγμα της βρίσκεται πέρα απ’ το αλφάβητο και πριν απ’ το συντακτικό.

The poet Aravantinou (1926–1998) on the painter Kanagini (1933–2008).

For more context, see the dubitandum titled “neon ⋮ hieroglyphics” (yellow box below).

Translated for (and taken from) the retrospective of the artist’s work – “An Ode to Things. Niki Kanagini. Retrospective” – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Tina Pandi.

arkhæio
ODE TO THINGS

dubitanda
neon ⋮ hieroglyphics

The migratory moves ⋮ immense.

The migratory moves made by my mother’s side of the family were traumatic. The culture they carried with them was boundless. The stories my grandmother and mother told always began with the words: ‘Back where we come from…’ Their longing for all they once had, for all they had lost was immense.

Niki Kanagini on longing (date unknown)

Οι μετακινήσεις της οικογένειας από τη μεριά της μητέρας μου ήταν τραυματικές. Ο πολιτισμός που μετέφεραν απεριόριστος. Οι ιστορίες της γιαγιάς μου και της μητέρας μου άρχιζαν πάντα με τις λέξεις «Στα μέρη μας…» και ο καημός για το τί είχαν και το τί έχασαν ήταν μεγάλος.

Niki Kanagini (born 1933 in Alexandroupoli, Greece) on the generational trauma and nostalgia that inspired her Displacement series.

Translated for (and taken from) an exhibition of her work – “An Ode to Things. Niki Kanagini. Retrospective” – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Tina Pandi.

arkhæio
ODE TO THINGS

dubitanda
neon ⋮ hieroglyphics

Nightmarish forest of ⋮ our own.

Nightmarish forest of memory,
for those who want it,
for those who foresee,
though not for those who pay no heed.

Freed from their supports
to follow visitors about,
they move among us,
among those who want it and those who want it not,
these torsos
have no voice, they borrow our own.

Dimitris Fatouros writing in 1969,
inspired by the works of Stathis Logothetis

Εφιαλτικό δάσος μνήμης,
για όσους το θέλουν,
για όσους προβλέπουν,
πάντως όχι για όσους αγνοούν.

Αποδεσμεύονται από τα στηρίγματα τους
και ακολουθούν τον επισκέπτη,
κινούνται ανάμεσα μας,
για όσους το θέλουν και για όσους δεν το θέλουν,
οι τόρσοι
δεν έχουν φωνή, δανείζονται τη δική μας.

In the catalogue for a solo exhibition given by Stathis Logothetis (1925–1997) at the Goethe-Institut Athen in 1969, the architect, painter, and writer Dimitris Fatouros (1928–2020) introduced a series of visceral works with a poetic text.

Fatouros’ poem captures the power of pieces Logothetis created between 1963 and 1969 when presented together as a body of work.

Translated for (and taken from) the retrospective of his work – Earth to Earth – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Stamatis Schizakis.

see also
Me – the material ⋮ necessity.

arkhæio
EARTH TO EARTH

Me – the material ⋮ necessity.

Phase One: me – the material,
I destroy – remake it.
Phase Two: two different materials
crashing into – repelling – attracting one another.
Phase Three: the material – the audience
reshape – reform it.
Phase Four: the material in and of itself
is altered – compressed – broken down – transformed.
My colour: red. Ever red, from very pale through to black.
My intent: humanity and its anguish, protests and conflicts, desertion and redemption.
Art is a biological necessity.

Stathis Logothetis on the four phases of his work (1971)

Φάση πρώτη: Εγώ – το υλικό
το καταστρέφω – το αναδημιουργώ.
Φάση δεύτερη: δυο διαφορετικά υλικά,
συγκρούονται – απωθούνται – έλκονται.
Φάση τρίτη: το υλικό – ο θεατής,
το μεταπλάθει – το διαμορφώνει.
Φάση τέταρτη: το υλικό μόνο του,
μεταβάλλεται – συμπιέζεται – διαλύεται – μεταμορφώνεται.
Το χρώμα μου: κόκκινο. Πάντα κόκκινο, από πολύ ανοιχτό μέχρι μαύρο.
Πρόθεση μου: ο άνθρωπος, η αγωνία του, η διαμαρτυρία, η σύγκρουση, η φυγή, η λύτρωση του.
Η τέχνη είναι μια βιολογική αναγκαιότητα.

Taken from an artistic statement – one of the few Stathis Logothetis ever made – in the catalogue for his first solo exhibition held at the Desmos Gallery in Athens in 1971.

Translated for (and taken from) the retrospective of his work – Earth to Earth – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Stamatis Schizakis.

arkhæio
EARTH TO EARTH

All ⋮ in and of itself.

All materials are self-determining,
each with their own singular capacities.
My desire is always to discover
a material’s simplest functions,
and to work with the possibilities it offers up
in and of itself.

Niki Kanagini on desire (date unknown)

Κάθε υλικό είναι αυτόνομο,
με τις αποκλειστικά δικές του δυνατότητες.
Επιθυμία μου ήταν πάντα η ανακάλυψη
της απλής λειτουργίας του υλικού
και η επεξεργασία της δυνατότητας που έχει
αυτό καθεαυτό.

Niki Kanagini (1933–2008) on her work as an artist.

Translated for (and taken from) an exhibition of the artist’s work – “An Ode to Things. Niki Kanagini. Retrospective” – held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) in 2026 and curated by Tina Pandi.

arkhæio
ODE TO THINGS

dubitanda
neon ⋮ hieroglyphics

Banana falls ⋮ over.

Banana falls down, no matter.
Melon falls down, it’s over.

A proverb taken from Rosebush Pruning (2026)
written by Efthimis Filippou

Αν πέσει μια μπανάνα στο έδαφος δεν πειράζει,
αν πέσει όμως ένα καρπούζι τότε πειράζει.

A fictitious proverb made up by Edward “Ed” Taylor (1991–2024), a fictitious character made up by Efthimis Filippou for the film Rosebush Pruning (2026) inspired by a fictitious character made up by Marco Bellocchio for the film Fists in the Pocket (1965).

Translated for (and taken from) the screenplay for the film, directed by Karim Aïnouz.

For more bona fide faux wisdom by Efthimis’ Ed (via Marco for Karim), see the dubitandum “sayings ⋮ spouted” (yellow box below).

Miss! Pride and ⋮ bows.

Missolónghi! Pride and joy of History herself,
Promised Land! A century slips past…
So be it. Remembrance – timeless – down before you
ever bows.

Kostis Palamas, from his 1926 poem “Glory Be to Missolónghi”

Μισολόγγι! Χαρὰ τῆς ἱστορίας,
Γῆ ἐπαγγελμένη! Πᾶνε ἑκατὸ χρόνια,
κι ἂς πᾶνε. Ἡ θύμηση ἄχρονη μπροστά σου
θὰ γονατίζῃ.

Translated for (and taken from) the Distillery Trikené website.

These closing lines of the celebrated poem “Glory Be to Missolónghi” (“I dóxa sto Missolónghi”) were written by Kostis Palamas (author of the official Olympic Hymn) back in 1926 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Exodus.

They appear on a Collector’s Edition bottle of Ouzo Trikené designed by Laios Papazoglou and released in 2026 to mark the 200th anniversary of this major moment in modern Greek history.