Filenews 25 April 2022 - by Pavlos Neophytou
Recognizable mountain peaks of Cyprus, such as Pentadaktylos, Stavrovouni and Moutti of Sotira in Akamas, are new elements that give planetary substance to the surreal paintings of Sergis Hadjiadamos. In the awe caused by their view, but also in the warm light of the Eastern Mediterranean, a demand is being made for the reconstruction of our common values. Among them is the value of individual domination, which nowadays has been neutralized, to the extent that it threatens the creativity that characterizes our species by the appearance of man on Earth, the artist himself says in his interview with philenews.
On the occasion of his new exhibition, Sergis Hatziadamos also talks about the process of converting original drawings into digital works, but also about the recent development of electronic contracts of works of art, since in his exhibition the visitor will not only be able to enjoy his work at the same time in its electronic form on a screen, but also to acquire it digitally with cryptocurrency, specifically with NFT technology, a trend that during the pandemic took off rapidly in the field of art.
Your new exhibition is called "Rebuilding our common values." Indicatively, which of them are you focusing on and why do you need to regroup them?
I believe that one of the most basic values of all human beings, regardless of national identity, race and religion, the value of individual sovereignty, has been neutralized. Over the past 20 years technology has infiltrated our personal lives to the extent that it controls up to our next intentions and thoughts. The privacy of each of us is not respected, or, rather, completely plundered, to the point that it seems even an insult to its rightful defence.
The information required or extracted from each of us, even in supposedly democratic societies, is in no way balanced with the usefulness and usability given to whoever acquires and possesses it. Not a single secret can be possessed solely by us anymore. We now live in a world where the small appliances we acquire or use, always knowingly, develop technologies that penetrate our own organism and always convince us, under the pretext that the quick, easy and "user-friendly" presentation of their results is for the benefit of a more sustainable life, ours and that of others.
In some areas, of course, this information may become a source of assurance of a better life for others, but for others, in which we are often included, it simply becomes an information-instrument of exploitation. I believe that such an illumination and stripping of our personality will have an even more negative development in the creativity that characterizes our species than the appearance of man on Earth. Therefore, our common values need immediate reorganisation in order to ensure that each individual is given this status in the future.
"A landscape is not as some people perceive it, some, just, set of land, plants and water. It is the projection of the soul of a people on matter", Odysseas Elytis had written in "The public and the private". The mountainous landscapes, which as we will see in the exhibition, are new elements that you introduce in your surrealistic compositions, how did they come about?
My ongoing "reconstructive" work over time has demonstrated the value of testing many new elements. Some of them are preserved more permanently and assimilated into the works. Indeed, in this new exhibition the public will notice recognizable mountain peaks of our Cyprus, such as Pentadaktylos, Stavrovouni, Moutti of Sotira in Akamas, and others. By adding these recognizable elements to my works, works that were designed from before, I reread (and with me the public will reread, I hope, the public) the planetary geographical substance that those in the paintings offer. Also, by placing them I keep in the composition not only topographical signs, but also a given moment of reality. At the same time, the bright elements I choose are harmonized as a deliberate subconscious reminder of the brightness of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Today digital art, which you serve, seems to follow in the footsteps of cryptocurrencies. The rise of the art electronic contracts market in the midst of the pandemic has been rapid. Was your choice to set up the first exhibition in Cyprus with NFT (Non-Fundable Tokens) technology inevitable?
The first solo exhibition of my work, which took place in Nicosia in 2003, was digitally printed, as was the one I am presenting now. The only difference is that in the last, and for the first time, the visitor will be able to enjoy my work in its electronic form on a screen, but also to acquire it digitally, through NFT.
Of course, the digital transaction of electronic works of art is not as modern as it is presented. I have a friend in Cyprus who lives since 2012 exclusively with the online sale of her works. And, as far as I know, I am not the first Cypriot to present and offer his works as an NFT in an exhibition; another colleague in Limassol has already presented her work in this way.
Let's not forget that, no matter how much our individuality is at risk, we live in the most technologically advanced age in history. With the growing number of myriad technological refinements and upgrades, inventions and changes, it is safe to say that almost every branch of human creativity is evolving rapidly. Through technology, the art industry has become a new field, creating new possibilities and bringing to the fore dimensions that we previously could not have imagined or, at least, exposed.
What place does this technology have in foreign exhibitions and what would you respond to sceptics who say that NFTs, like cryptocurrencies, belong to a world that is not yet fully regulated by the authorities?
One of the main reasons for the development and dispersion of technology (Blockchain and in the expansion of NFT) was the pandemic, which expanded from 2020 and which limited our movements, but also resulted in a development of the search for other forms of transactions and income acquisition.
After the sale of a digital artwork at a record price of $69,000,000, interest in creating and acquiring electronic works of art rose sharply. It has come, today, to be organically integrated with the concept of art. However, NFT does not replace art as an art, nor does it only respond to the transaction of works of art. NFT are electronic contracts, which simply transfer the property indicated on them, automatically and without intermediaries, to whoever pays first the requested transaction.
Tell us about the process of converting original designs into digital projects.
The works that I am presenting in this exhibition have all been created by hand. Then, they are painted on the computer. It is the same process that a designer and a painter have always used. First the drawing on the canvas, and then the addition of colours. Therefore, I do not find any difference in the procedure. Also, the tools are the same, only the computer provides faster speeds. You don't wait for the paint to dry, and you can change the colour automatically. The printing of the works on stainless paper using the method of Giclee Print ensures in them the quality and longevity they deserve.
*Sergis Hadjiadamos' new exhibition "Reconstruction of our common values - Reconstructing Our Common Values" will be hosted from 30/04/2022 until 01/05/2022 at the "Ab gallery", in Geroskipou (Paphos), Agapenoros, 8310. For the first time in Cyprus all works will also be available as NFTs through a screen. The exhibition will be presented by Mimis Sofocleous, scientific director of the Pattichion Municipal Museum - Historical Archive and Study Center Limassol.
CV
Sergis Hadjiadamos was born in 1975 in South Africa and grew up in Ktima Pafos. Son of the distinguished artist Andy Hadjiadamos, he had the opportunity to meet the most famous artists of Pafos, Kostas Economou, Giorgos Kotsonis, Andreas Charalambides, Clara Zacharaki, Christos Foukaras, Andreas Makariou, Stas Paraschos, to discuss with them and be influenced by them. A student sat in art classes near Rhine Stefani, Susan Vargas, Mariam Suhanova Woukara and Yiota Ioannidou. In this familiar circle he realized the local artistic vocabulary, the propensity towards things and the indelible light of Pafos. After 1997 he studied in various Workshops and Art Schools of Athens, ending up in visual technology, digital art and graphic design.
