Curated by Eleni Riga with works by Eva Giannakopoulou, Natalia Manta, Maro Michalakakos, Malvina Panagiotidi, Panos Profitis, Johnna Sachpazis, Panos Sklavenitis, Panos Tsagaris, Giorgos Tserionis.

As part of the "Rituals for the New World" festival at Teras Athens, the homonymous group exhibition tackles the role of the monster (teras: τέρας in Greek) in ritual - an integral part of every society in every era - and the reclamation of monstrosity through mythology, popular culture, feminist and queer practices. The exhibition, through three thematic sections (individual-family-collectivity), encourages us to celebrate the monster within us and around us.

In a time of global ecological and social crisis, humanity turns its gaze back to ritual, a sequence of actions performed in a set order. According to religion professor Robert A. Segal, ritual is something that happens in everyone's life, in all places and in all cultures. Modern societies do not always preserve the traditional form of rituals of archaic and pre-industrial times. However, modern societies maintain significant social events to inaugurate a new life chapter or the end of one, mark transitions and create or celebrate social ties that have much in common with rituals. By defining beginnings and ends to social phases, rituals structure our social worlds and how we understand time, relationships, and change.

The monster is deeply connected to rituals and myths. As author Ocean Vuong writes, the word monster comes from the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, and was then adapted in Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once. Monsters often represent the deepest fears and dark sides of the human psyche, unspoken desires and a connection to primordial chaos. They challenge social norms and dissolve the boundaries between the known and the unknown, the human and the non-human, the real and the imaginary, the natural and the constructed. When the monster is combined with physical excess, disguise, humor and subversion in the context of folk traditions such as carnival, it empowers local communities and fosters a sense of unity. Furthermore, feminist, LGBTQ+, and trans communities have historically appropriated the monster, combining monstrosity with queer identity and hybridity, disrupting traditional categories and overturning prejudices.

This curatorial proposal is extended with the group exhibition "WALL: Rituals for the New World" by Sylvia Sachini from MISC.

12.10.2023, 7 p.m. special tour exhibition with the participating artist Johnna Sachpazis and the curator Eleni Riga.