The "Intimacy: A modern tyranny" show, the main exhibition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival which brought cinema and contemporary arts to a direct open dialogue was presented for the first time in Athens from 15 July to 15 September 2021 at the Project Gallery.
The Tyranny of Intimacy is the title of the last chapter of the book The Fall of Public Man by Richard Sennett. The book, prophetic when first published and particularly timely today guided us in composing the Competition Section structure for the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
These ideas were given flesh through paint, clay, iron, plastic or thread, and were brought to life by the mind, talent and dedication of twelve artists, each transmuting their own experience of viewing one of the films in the Competition Section into an original work of art. Together, artworks and films, simultaneously within and outside their familiar and natural environment, urged us to negotiate the pairing of images. We found ourselves, almost of our own accord, at a point of transcendence. This was a starting-point for the dialogue framing the contemporary sensory experience and participation in all things public. These works were going to be presented in the central exhibition of the 61st Thessaloniki International Film Festival titled Intimacy: A Modern Tyranny. The exhibition was originally going to take place at the MOMus Experimental Centre for the Arts on Pier 1 of the Thessaloniki port, 5th-15th November 2020.
However, due to the pandemic the physical show had to be indefinitely postponed and instead, reproductions of the artworks, were set on display in various spots in and around the center of Thessaloniki and 12 large reprints of the artworks on banners, were exhibited on the exterior walls of the Festival venues buildings of the city’s port pier, taking their place in the public spaces. It was a necessary compromise dictated by the urgency of the situation then and despite the conditions, this alternative show worked very well.
After the restrictions have lifted in Greece and as life is slowly returned to a somewhat hopeful normality, these artworks which have long been waiting to be properly shown in an actual art space, came out of storage and finally was put on display at The Project Gallery in Athens!
