Every Centre a Periphery Every Periphery a Centre

Exhibition of German artist Horst Weierstall at the Larnaka Municipal Art Gallery

The Larnaka Municipal Art Gallery presents the exhibition of the German artist Horst Weierstall, entitled Every Centre a Periphery Every Periphery a Centre, curated by Marina Christodoulidou, to take place from 8 December 2017 until 31 January 2018.

The exhibition follows as the fourth instalment of the artist’s and the curator’s collaboration in a series of exhibitions and talks which preceded in 2016 and 2017 at the Zampelas Art Museum, the Goethe Institute Cyprus, and under the framework of ‘Paphos 2017’; endeavours of the Walking a Line project aiming to delve into the artist’s practice from the period of 1979 to date. The project concludes with the upcoming exhibition and premiere of the documentary about the artist, directed by Nicolas Iordanou and Sylvia Nicolaides, as a parallel event to the exhibition.

The title, Every Centre a Periphery Every Periphery a Centre, suggests the concept of the artist who identifies it not only with peripheral places he visits throughout the world, but also which he experienced and developed through his work, with Larnaka’s landscape as his point of reference. Horst Weierstall says:

‘In my eyes, Larnaka became a particular landscape. I experienced it by walking and then I approached it through the literature written by travellers of the 15th and 19th centuries. I have always been interested in finding myself based on the perceptions of travellers before forming my own impressions of a city. I used features of Larnaka in my work and created site-specific praxis – performances – with reference to the city’s Salt Lake and the horizon.

Let me also mention that my life in Cyprus began in Larnaka when teaching visual arts at the American Academy in the 1980s. At the end of each workday, I walked to the coastal front, the well-known Finikoudes Beach. The sea was important to me, the horizon, and at the same time what lies beyond the horizon of the city... The way in which the city can be conceptualized on the basis of its geographic and historical features is certainly something that appeals to me personally and inevitably to my practice.’

Horst Weierstall's practice combines drawings, diaries, archival material, collages, artist books, site-specific installations, paintings and performances – praxis – for which the artist uses his body as his means of expression. Characterised for his distinctive way of observing a landscape and transcending the experiences he captures and feels into art, one would say that his work is temporary and simultaneously timeless, filled with poetry and emotion.

The exhibition is not linear or retrospective in nature, and does not display the evolution of his work chronologically. Instead, it attempts to compare and contrast different phases of his practice, series of works, media and methodologies. Although Horst Weierstall was based in Cyprus from 1981 to 2008, his work was mainly influenced by his frequent visits to England and Germany. The artist is considered to be one of the first representatives of Performance Art in Cyprus. Selected past praxis, as he defines his performances, will be shown in a short video, entitled Fragments.

The exhibition will be divided into four thematics, one for each room of the exhibition space. Each thematic will create a different setting and disposition within the space, thus underlining the multifaceted practice of the artist. The location and architecture of the Larnaka Municipal Art Gallery – the past Harbour Warehouse – stimulated Horst Weierstall to create site-specific interventions in the exhibiting space as instant praxis during the installation of the exhibition.

In a visual essay accompanying the exhibition one can find extracts from various literary sources, which inspired the artist in his practice. The excerpts are arranged exactly as they appear in the artist's diaries, along with views from a number of his fellow collaborators. The essay’s rationale, published by Moufflon Publications, presents the reader with an open-ended paradigm, intending a sense of participation in decoding the ideas and concepts of his works.

On the last day of the exhibition, 31 January 2018, at 20:00 the launch of the documentary about the artist, directed by photographer Nicolas Iordanou and video artist and film director Sylvia Nicolaides, will take place. A black and white documentary about Horst Weierstall and his work, it spans over four decades, beyond Cyprus and Germany. The documentary will not only refer to his practice through archival material, but will also present re-enacted praxis in the making of the film. The exhibition and documentary intend to further explore the work of Horst Weierstall, highlighting his contribution to the artistic scene of Cyprus.

The exhibition will be opened by the Mayor of Larnaka, Mr Andreas Vyras, on Friday, 8 December 2017, at 20:00.

On Wednesday, 31 January 2018, at 20:00, the premiere of Horst Weierstall’s documentary, entitled Marking Time and directed by Nicolas Iordanou and Sylvia Nicolaides, will take place at the exhibition space.

Free entrance