Release
Within the framework of the central exhibition program “Under the Bridge” of the “Athens Photo Festival 2010”, which takes place at the Esplanade Building (next to Tae Kwon Do Court) Faliron Olympic Complex, opens on Friday November 19 the exhibition of Yannis Tzortzis “Green-Project-Africa (a preview)”.
Aesthetics is the moral philosophy of the future (M. Gorky)
The “Green-Project-Africa (a preview)” is the first synoptic presentation under the curation of Nina Kassianou, of the personal witness of Yannis Tzortzis (Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain), who took part in the 20-member mission of the Green Project NGO (GP www.green-project.org) to Africa in the summer of 2010, International Year of Biodiversity. The GP carried out the “green” journey of art & science: “Athens-Cape Town from the waterways to the energy routes”, in the framework of initiatives of the UNESCO, the UNEP and the European Commission.
More particularly, the artist traversed the black continent using low CO2 emission automobiles (the first world-wide attempt of its kind). In this demanding undertaking of 17,500 kilometers and 55 days, he recorded in analogue panoramic photographs, points of environmental interest in 8 African nations (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa).
Moving towards the outer limits of art-photojournalism, Tzortzis used photographs not only as art, but also as a record, aiming to locate opportunities for “green” development on the black continent, running counter to the prevailing prejudices. Projected in his photographs is a “different” aesthetic/moral philosophy about the rational use of natural resources in confronting energy poverty, the opportunity for improvement of living conditions and the protection of biodiversity.
This endeavor constitutes a continuation of the successful road trip of 2008 “Green Project in Asia: Athens-Beijing from the silk roads to the energy roads”, which was presented at the “Athens Photo Festival 2009”, at “798 Anniart 2010” in Beijing and won the award of the “Festival International de l’Image Environnementale 2010 in Paris.
Green Project is an NGO which has been created out of the voluntary initiative of active citizens, scientists and artists, with the purpose of forging environmental awareness through artistic creation. With the “green journeys of art & science” GP aims at becoming a tool of intercultural communication by highlighting the strong energy ties and common environmental issues among the nations visited.
For more information about the Green–Project–Africa, please get in touch with the Green Project NGO
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