Theodoulos Polyviou
Rosa Mystica
"Rosa Mystica", si rifà all'ipotesi di mutazione della statua lignea dell'Angelo Annunciante nella Madonna del Rosario. Adornandoli con abiti digitali, il nostro obiettivo è quello di onorare i sistemi di conoscenza propri della comunità di Fosdinovo e di ridefinire il virtuale come un regno spirituale.
Theodoulos Polyviou e Loukis Menelaou, Rosa Mystica, 2023, Fosdinovo (MS), Toscana. Ph. Leonardo Morfini
Theodoulos Polyviou (Nicosia, Cyprus, 1989) lives and works in Berlin. In 2014 he graduated in Visual Communication from the Royal College of Art, London. He co-founded the project space Koraï, Cyprus, which he directed for several years and co-curated Mediterranea 19 Young Artists Biennale in 2020. School of Waters, San Marino. He has presented his work in solo exhibitions, including those at Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin and ZKM: Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe; he has participated in numerous group exhibitions including the Cyprus Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021. He was recently artist-in-residence at KORA - Contemporary Arts Centre in Castrignano de' Greci, where he developed a project in collaboration with Alfatih. In November 2023, his solo exhibition Trasmundane Economies; Zypern Iconostasis is scheduled to take place at the Bode Museum in Berlin. For Una Boccata d'Arte 2023, Polyviou collaborates with Loukis Menelaou (Cyprus, 1997), an architectural designer living in London where he is in his final year of Architectural Studies at the Barlett School of Architecture, UCL.
Fosdinovo is a village of about 4,500 inhabitants, set on a ridge in a beautiful position overlooking the Val di Magra valley, and dominated by the Malaspina castle around which the village developed. Dating back to the 12th century, it was the family's residence and political centre, and tradition has it that Dante Alighieri was also hosted in its rooms. Today it is open to the public and the ducal halls and parts of the medieval keep can be visited. In early July, the village presents an evocative medieval atmosphere created by the traditional historical re-enactment. The village's unique position, set between the sea and the Apennine and Apuan hinterland, gives it a varied climate that is ideal for both coastal and mountain crops. Famous specialities include Vermentino wine, extra-virgin olive oil, Lunigiana D.O.P. (P.D.O, protected designation of origin) honey, and the Pomo Rodelo, a native apple variety. Fosdinovo is surrounded by nature, and its territory offers a wealth of hiking trails such as the Sentiero dei Ducati (Trail of the Duchies) and a portion of the Via Francigena (an ancient pilgrimage route) where the 15th-century sepulchral monument of Galeotto Malaspina is located. The French cult of San Remigio, to whom the parish church is dedicated, expanded along this famous Way.