Paphos exhibition explores the city’s hidden layers

A new and collaborative exhibition opens in Paphos this week, adding to the city’s cultural agenda. Megadence, as part of Visual Voices’ Vis-à-Vis Nicosia programme, presents the opening of ‘What does not finish disappearing’ on October 23, showcasing works by Marinos Houtris and Ekso. Hosted at Decade (on 4 Agiou Kendea Street), the exhibition will remain open until November 6 and includes a roundtable conversation with the artists, a journalist and the co-founder of Megadence. “Through field recordings and documentation of the landscape,” comment the organisers, “the exhibition attends to what becomes perceptible only through disturbance, exposure and transition. Construction sites in Paphos become points of access to infrastructures that are normally buried and to flows that cannot ordinarily be seen or heard. “By recontextualising what is embedded within the seemingly ordinary and familiar, yet remains imperceptible to the everyday gaze, the exhibition hacks another layer of the city into moments of temporary visibilities. It contemplates what is revealed through these transitional spaces and what remains after they disappear.” Taking part in this project is Marinos Houtris, who is an artist working across photography, sound and installation. In his practice, he follows things that emerge briefly or remain present without being noticed, attending to the temporary and less visible life of urban space. In recent years, this has taken him beneath the streets of Paphos, following water, pipes, vibrations and the traces left by excavation and repair. In turn, the second participating artist of the exhibition, Angela Ioannidou, presents Ekso, a collaborative project for critical conversations through artistic and creative practices. Its name, meaning ‘outside’ in Greek, reflects an engagement with Paphos as both a geographical and cultural ‘outside,’ creating space and visibility for perspectives and voices that exist beyond dominant narratives. A roundtable conversation on 31 October will bring together artists Marinos Houtris, Angela Ioannidou (Ekso), journalist Niki Laou, and Marina Demosthenous, the co-founder of Megadence and moderator of the discussion. What does not finish disappearing Collaborative exhibition by Marinos Houtris and Ekso. October 23-November 6. Decade, 4 Agiou Kendea, Paphos. Opening night: 7pm. Thursday-Friday: 5pm-7pm or by appointment. www.megadence.com