Twenty years after their first appearance, the Mars and Lakis Ionas (The Callas) They are taking over the -1 level of Stegi with a hallucinatory exhibition steeped in Mediterranean psychedelia.
With the exhibition—a psychedelic journey through the past, present, and future of the Greek visual arts and music scene, *Love Solidarity Death* (L.S.D.)— The Callas celebrate 20 years of creativity, taking over the -1 level of the Onassis Cultural Center from November 26 through December 30. They present new work, featuring their pop-folk embroidery and woven pieces, sculptures and installations made from cut marble from Athens’ old sidewalks, paintings of working-class Madonnas, DIY Parthenon-style structures, film screenings, and happenings, as well as collaborations with guest contributors from abroad and the local scene: from Ian F. Svenonius to PapithedogTV.
A band, an artistic duo, and, of course, siblings—in life and on stage—they always work together and always with their friends, from Greece and abroad, as well as their relatives. The weavers and embroiderers of their «flying carpets» are none other than their mother and aunt. The Callasettes are none other than the women who stand by their side—as partners, collaborators, and friends. Their multifaceted work has been presented in New York, London, and Paris, as well as in Athens, Hydra, and in the village directly across from theirs—in Thermisia, Peloponnese. There, on their ancestral estate, they organize bacchanalian community art events, such as the recent 24-hour art event—a prelude to the current exhibition—which they staged on June 21, 2022, with the support of Onassis Culture.
Twenty years after their debut, The Callas (Aris and Lakis Ionas) summarize their multifaceted artistic presence with “L.S.D.”: an exhibition-style, episodic retrospective into the future defined—both conceptually and experientially—by the title “Love Solidarity Death (L.S.D.)”.
Among the pioneers of the DIY scene in Greece—musicians, visual artists, performers, publishers, organizers of urban and provincial festivals, film and video creators, hospitable hosts in their own spaces and restless explorers of other places and ways, resourceful devotees of a de-developmental artistic experience, and allies of anti-hegemonic collective practices—The Callas stir up the raw materials of their spirit-stirring action. They bring to the Onassis Foundation’s Stegi episodes of an adventure that remains committed to the radical pedagogy of solidarity, in the extravagant version of love, and in the fragmentary, transformative psychedelia of death.
At the venues, events, mix sessions, and happenings of “L.S.D.,” one will encounter, among other things, a largely unclassified archive of collective practices in Greece, as well as the kind of improvisational communitarianism that manifested itself quietly and delightfully within the work of the Iona brothers.
“L.S.D.” thus proposes not only an open ecosystem of self-sufficiency, osmotic revisions, and ecstatic knowledge, but above all a therapeutic, albeit unsettling, exploratory reality of «cosmopolitics.».
Nadia Argyropoulou
Artists' Note
The sense of community and the frenzied, continuous creation of small, temporary utopias as a weapon of resistance and survival—as a series of fragile bunkers of utopia, bubble shelters, or chapels— Mom’s embrace, our girlfriends and our friends, the fragmentation and mystery of Heraclitus and E. H. Gonatas, “In Lust We Trust” as a muffled mantra and a murmur, Superstudio and the Radical Italian Discos, the respect for the uniqueness of every small element in a Byzantine wall, cut-up literary and cinematic techniques, domes, the psychedelic anarchic architecture in Thomas Pynchon’s *Gravity’s Rainbow*, J. G. Ballard’s sensual urban dystopia, Sonic Youth with Bellou and Papagika, the «buttoned-up» Plus Soda next to Kerameikos, the trippy N. G. Pentzikis, the sensual frottage of Cycladic architecture, the lo-fi and tender geometry in a post-punk song, the Working Class Madonnas next door, the muted energy of Morandi, the day-to-day life of Frank O’Hara’s poetry, Ciriaco d’’Ancona through archaeological sites, and the Situationists’ wanderings with their psychogeography; the cypress trees everywhere and the First Cemetery as a garden/courtyard/smile of Kore/Kouros. The 50 uncovered meters of our Ilissos and Kalliroi, with its Nymphs, with the ancient water flowing since time immemorial, with Saint Fotini, with parakeets alongside frogs and otherworldly nature in the heart of the urban landscape, with its cruising spot and the urban mythology of the hole-arcade.
At dawn, you walk arm in arm, with a hangover, on Pikionis’s paving stones, and you feel shards, thirst, ancient marble and Korai coexisting with plastic sewer pipes, cats, and oleanders, and the sun always rising from behind that crazy Hymettus (you gently close your eyes).
Love, SSolidarity & Death
-The Callas / Lakis and Aris Ionas – November 2022
Contributors
Edited by: Nadia Argyropoulou, The Callas / Lakis and Aris Ionas
Embroidery, knitting: Ioanna Iona, Anastasia Drouza, Dionysia Bosmi
Technical study, mechanical design, and construction of the Punkthenon project: Dimitris Korres – Korres Engineering
The members of the Callas band: Aris Ionas, Lakis Ionas, Chrysanthi Tsoukala, Christos Bekiris
The Callas guest members: Marilena Petridou, Kostas Stergiou
Music: The Callas
Sounding: Nikos Triantafyllou
Mixes: Heracles Vlachakis
Performance
Directed by: The Callas / Lakis and Aris Ionas
Choreography: Angeliki Hatzis
Dancers: Martha Pasakopoulou, Christina Karagianni, Angeliki Hatzis
Performers: Filippa Dimitriadi, Dionysia Bosmi, Anita Polychroni, Lina Rokou, Daphne Kyriakidou
Guests, Collaborators (in person): Ian F. Svenonius, PapithedogTV
Contributors to the publication “Notes on L.S.D.”: Jim Sclavunos, Ian F. Svenonius, Paul Artrocker, Myriam Ben Salah, Nadia Argyropoulou, Afroditi Panagiotakou
Participant with a video clip: Jacqueline Lenzou
Graphic Design: Ada Theodorakaki, Irini Zografou
Photography, Video Documentation: Angelos Kaltsis
Production: Eirini Zografou, The Studio – Velvet Room Projects
A production by the Onassis Foundation's Stegi
A Few Words About Lakis & Aris Ionas / The Callas
The Lakis & Aris Ionas / The Callas Since 2002, they have been creating works in the fields of art, film, and music. They have presented their work in solo and group exhibitions at the Benaki Museum / New Museum (New York) – DESTE Foundation, at documenta 14, at the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), at Family Business (New York), at the Athens Biennale, at Andreas Melas Projects (Athens), at State of Concept (Athens), at The Breeder gallery (Athens), at Kustera Projects (New York), at Atopos CVC (Athens), and at Yinka Shonibare Space (London).
Callas have collaborated with Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) and Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds) on albums and live performances.
Their first feature-length film, “Lustlands” (HAOS film), premiered at the 7th Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival. Their second film, “The Great Eastern,” was shot at the DESTE Foundation’s project space at the Hydra Slaughterhouse. It premiered at the Onassis Foundation’s Stegi and was also screened at documenta 14. Their third film, “SICK,” premiered at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
As a band, they have performed live at the Liverpool Psychedelic Festival (Liverpool), at The Great Escape Festival (Brighton), at the Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg), and have also performed with Thurston Moore, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ty Segall, and Grinderman.
Their studio, called Velvet Room, is one of the most active DIY art and music venues in Athens.
Program
Saturday, November 26
Ground Floor Foyer | –1 | 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Opening Ceremony
9:00 p.m. Catwalk Performance (20 min)
The Callas Performance
The Callasettes—Filippa Dimitriadi, Dionysia Bosmi, Anita Polychroni, Lina Rokou, Daphne Kyriakidou—and the dancers Martha Pasakopoulou, Christina Karagianni, and Angeliki Hatzis—choreographed by Angeliki Hatzis and directed by The Callas—use the exhibition space as their stage, presenting a hybrid catwalk.
Saturday, December 3 & Sunday, December 4
Ground Floor Foyer | –1 | 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Film Screenings | Small Stage | 7:00 p.m. – 11:15 p.m.
7:00 p.m. L.S.D. – Love Solidarity Death music video by Jackie Lentzou (premiere)
Lustlands (16+)
15’ Break
8:30 p.m. Great Eastern (16+)
15’ Break
10:00 p.m. Sick (16+)
For the first time, Stegi presents the complete filmography of Lakis and Aris Ionas / The Callas.
The Callas and their friends, collaborators, and fellow travelers—operating like a cinematic guerrilla collective—have been presenting, over the past 10 years, handmade films that are existential, raw, and emotional, always ending with a comma rather than a period.
(The films will be subtitled in English.).
L.S.D. – Love Solidarity Death music video by Jackie Lentzou (premiere)
Duration: 6'
Screenplay and Direction: Jacqueline Lenzou
Cast: Sofia Kokkali, Nicolas Papadomichelakis
Director of Photography: Konstantinos Koukoulios
Produced by: Faye Minopetrou-Kasimati, Nicolas Kouloglou
Lustlands, 2013
Running time: 73'
Screenplay & Direction: The Callas / Lakis and Aris Ionas
Cast: Angeliki Hatzis, Terpsichore Savvala, Anita Polychroni, Aphrodite Psarra, Kostas Varotsos, Ilias Papazacharias, Anastasia Drouza, Dimitris Kotselis
Director of Photography: Dimitris Kotselis
Edited by: Dimitris Kotselis
Production: The Studio Art Projects / Velvet Room Projects – Haos film
A film noir set under the scorching Mediterranean sun. At the height of summer, four friends leave the city and unemployment behind and find refuge on a seaside farm.
Far from the stress and problems, the four friends give themselves over to the languor and sensuality of summer. Friends from the past intrude on the girls’ lives, childhood romances are rekindled, friendships are put to the test, and forgotten secrets menacingly come to the forefront.
The Great Eastern, 2017
Running time: 83'
Screenplay & Direction: The Callas / Lakis and Aris Ionas
Starring: Iro Sofoulaki, Dimitris Politakis, Katia Dimopoulou, Valisia Odell, Ilias Papazacharias
Director of Photography: Dimitris Kotselis
Edited by: Dimitris Kotselis
Executive Producer: Venia Vergou
Production: The Studio Art Projects / Velvet Room Projects
Isolation, hope, longing, and darkness. Five people stand like trees, waiting on a remote island for the ocean liner “The Great Eastern” to pick them up for a journey toward some hope. A small butterfly flutters among them and ruins everything.
Sick, 2021
Running time: 73'
Screenplay & Direction: The Callas / Lakis and Aris Ionas
Cast: Melia Kreiling, Nikolakis Zenginoglou
Director of Photography: Lakis and Aris Ionas
Editing: Lakis and Aris Ionas, Melina Tavoulari
Production: The Studio Art Projects / Velvet Room Projects
An experimental, handmade film, shot with cell phones and selfies during the quarantine in Athens and Los Angeles. A poetic, internet romance that explores isolation, staring at ceilings, the fragmentation of memory, and the existential problems that well up from straight or circular pretzels.
Friday, December 16
Ground Floor Foyer | –1 | 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
20:00 Escape-ism (Ian F. Svenonius), live (30′)
9:30 p.m. The Callas, live performance with The Callasettes (40 min)
Three new songs by The Callas accompany the performance.
The Callas band members: Aris Ionas, Lakis Ionas, Chrysanthi Tsoukala, Christos Bekiris
The Callas guest members: Marilena Petridou, Kostas Stergiou
Directed by: The Callas
Choreography: Angeliki Hatzis, The Callas
Dancers: Martha Pasakopoulou, Christina Karagianni, Angeliki Hatzis
Performers: Filippa Dimitriadi, Dionysia Bosmi, Anita Polychroni, Lina Rokou, Daphne Kyriakidou
Sound Recording: Nikos Triantafyllou
Mixing: Heracles Vlachakis
LOVE SOLIDARITY DEATH, NOTES ON L.S.D., book launch
Presentation of the special edition featuring artwork by The Callas, with texts by exhibition curator Nadia Argyropoulou, Afroditi Panagiotakou, Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), Ian F. Svenonius (Escape-ism, Make Up), Paul Artrocker (Artrocker magazine, Resonance FM, New Heavy Sounds), and a conversation between The Callas and Myriam Ben Salah (Renaissance Society, Chicago/Paris).
Publication Design: Ada Theodorakaki, Irini Zografou
Saturday, December 17
Ground Floor Foyer | –1 | 6:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m. Ian F. Svenonius, talk (30 min)
9:00 p.m. PapithedogTV, live (30 min)
10:00 p.m. The Callas, live performance with The Callasettes (40 min)
Three new songs by The Callas accompany the performance.
The Callas Performance
The Callas will present three of their new songs and their new collection of handmade knitwear and visual art pieces. The Callasettes—Filippa Dimitriadi, Dionysia Bosmi, Anita Polychroni, Lina Rokou, Daphne Kyriakidou—and dancers Martha Pasakopoulou, Christina Karagianni, and Angeliki Hatzis—choreographed by Angeliki Hatzis and directed by The Callas—use the exhibition’s installations as their stage, presenting a hybrid catwalk.
Ian F. Svenonius (Escape-ism)
Ian Svenonius, drawing on his multifaceted journey through music and books with Radical Elite, presents his latest book, titled “Against the Written Word” and discusses the essay he wrote for the publication “The Callas – Notes on L.S.D.”, inspired by The Callas’s work *Punkthenon*.
PapithedogTV
PapithedogTV is an underground dog pop band from Athens that’s coming to Stegi for a 30-minute ’woof” explosion.
