Socio-politics meet art for one local resident currently representing his country at the Vennice Biennale
When someone invites you to take part in something as big as the 110th anniversary of the Venice Biennale, you know you are doing something right. Panayiotis Michael is one of two Cypriot artists taking part in the expo, which runs until November.
“The Biennale has always had the international cultural and artistic debate within and to be able to exhibit my drawings at this foundation that has so much heritage and history is very important and demanding,” explained Panayiotis. The artist was hand picked by curator Chuz Martinez, leaving behind 22 different entries and proposals from Cyprus. “The curator is different each year and this year Chuz Martinez wanted a specific direction for the exhibition and she happened to agree with Konstantia Sophocleous’ and my views and works, which are basically drawing collages.” Both artists research how each one of us is a rational actor carrying subjective rights and private inclinations in a society transformed into a Gravy Planet, a place where you are not allowed to miss the gravy train.
Panayiotis Michael was born in Nicosia in 1966 but he admits not being instantly attracted to art. “It took some time although at one point I realised I wanted to get involved with art and so I went to Moscow to study Graphic Arts and Engraving at the Moscow Academic Art Institute,” Panayiotis explained, “I then came back to Cyprus for a couple of years and decided to head for New York where I continued my studying at Queens College.” He combined studies with work for four years. He worked with one of his teachers in New York at the Doing Art Together organisation. During that time he exhibited works in America and in other countries but soon it was back to Cyprus. “As soon as I got back I got a job working as a teacher at the Frederick Institute of Technology where I still work,” Panayiotis said, “and I teach what I know best: Graphic Arts and Interior Design.”
However fascinating the Biennale in Venice might seem, it isn’t Michael’s first representing Cyprus. “I represented my country in the Rijeka Biennale of Croatia in 1998 and the 20th Alexandria Biennale in Egypt in 1999,” he explained, “where I was awarded the Jury Prize.” As Panayiotis continued to surprise, he is also the co-founder of Artrageous, an artist group created in 2004 with the purpose of creating a socio-political manifestation that focuses on the role of the artist as an agent of public awareness within a contemporary art context.
l Cyprus at the 51st International Exhibition of Contemporary Art. La Biennale di Venezia. Until November 6
SEVEN QUESTIONS
What car do you drive?
A Peugeot 306
Describe your perfect weekend
Just having fun and hanging out with friends
What is your greatest fear?
Being afraid
What is your earliest memory?
Playing under a grapefruit tree in my mother’s garden when I was very young
What was the last item of clothing you bought?
A pair of shoes
Assuming you believed in reincarnation, who or what would you come back as?
I would come back as myself but I would try to be better. I would believe in myself a lot more
What did you have for breakfast?
Toast with marmalade, halloumi and some tea with milk
