Around the World in 80 Maps

 On Thursday 28 January 2021, Alibi Gallery will open again with a group exhibition, a tribute to travel, with the participation of Alexandros Maganiotis Cacao Rocks Iakovos Volkov John Avgoustis Marilia Kolibiri Melina Mitchell Sofia Rozaki The Krank

Traveling, often a temporary escape from our daily routine, has been practically “prohibited” along with most of our entertainment, encounters with friends and our every-day freedom in movement. This does not mean that one should abandon one’s self to boredom and negative thoughts. Our minds are free to dream. We cannot travel but we still have our fantasy, our imagination, thoughts and hopes.

Fantasy can be our plane to take us flying through the clouds, on the moon, in the sky from where we can hug the universe. Imagination can be our boat to navigate the seas, cross the oceans lulled by the waves, struggle with the winds, to play with dolphins, to fantasize with the sirens. Desire can be our steam train, our bus or our car and take us through the mountains, across the fields, through the foreign cities’ colored roads. Through traveling we can overcome prejudices and narrowmindedness, we discover another world, foreign to us, and through this new world understand ourselves. That‘s why we need to travel. So let us abandon ourselves to the journey, let us lose control and jump on our flying carpets... the maps. Let’s follow the artists and travel with them through their maps.

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A map is information, learning.

A map is history, progress.

A map is a path, a bond, a compass to find one’s way and also a guide.

Every map is Cavafy’s Ithaca.

A map is art, colour, shadows, lines, representation.

A map is imagination -especially in its delightful mistakes- which make it seem like a work of art.

* Margarita Samourka