The Callas are presenting their sculptural installation Punkthenon as part of the exhibition Plásmata 3: We’ve met before, haven’t we?, organized by the Onassis Stegi at Pedion tou Areos in Athens, running from May 27 to June 15, 2025.
Punkthenon is a monumental yet deliberately fragile structure crafted from broken marble slabs salvaged from Athenian sidewalks. This material choice reflects the artists' intention to encapsulate the city's lived experiences: "The marbles condense the life of the city. We chose this material that the entire Athens has stepped on. We wanted to create a monument—an anti-monument—that contains our whole life. Our Parthenon is a temple of disobedience. And although it consists of such a sturdy material, weighing a total of 6 tons, we wanted it to give the impression of a sensitive, fragile construction ready to collapse," explain Aris and Lakis Ionas.
The work critically engages with the symbolism of white marble in Athenian democracy, highlighting how its original polychromy was lost over time, leading to associations with whiteness that align with dominant cultural narratives shaped by white and male-centric perspectives. By utilizing marble from urban pavements—spaces where social and political life converge—the installation underscores the contradictions and latent instability inherent in these public surfaces, now appearing dislocated and warped, poised on the edge of collapse. Punkthenon stands as a poignant commentary on the fragility of societal structures and the enduring impact of cultural narratives on public consciousness.
Plásmata 3, the grand exhibition by Onassis Stegi at Pedion tou Areos park, invites you into a world where the boundaries between reality and illusion dissolve and the everyday becomes magical. For 20 days, Pedion tou Areos hosts 25 works by Greek and international artists, discreetly spread across the park like a dream. These works converse with our daily lives and give space to the analog, the physical, and the imaginary.
Plásmata 3 is an invitation to play—a proposal to see the world around us differently. Like in the cinema of David Lynch, the uncanny emerges from the familiar, and the dreamlike feels like memory. What is the Ministry of Anarchaeology? Is that owl next to the statue of Athena really moving? Why are there sheep from Lebanon in the park? Could the spirit of the park bring us together? Are golden Datsuns falling from the sky? Do the seashells sing? Would you like to become a bat?
At Pedion tou Areos, you’ll encounter beings you’re not sure are real—or born from a fairytale, a Goya painting, or your childhood dreams. This year’s Plásmata 3 are uncanny—but also lovable. Tender and familiar. They make you wonder: Do they exist? Did they exist? Will they? And maybe that doesn’t even matter.
More information here
