The Breeder is pleased to present Forever Fish, a solo exhibition by Aristeidis Lappas. Continuing his exploration of aquatic worlds as sites of healing, transformation and ecological entanglement, the exhibition follows his first solo institutional presentation, Gift of the Moon Crab, at Kunstverein Ludwigshafen in Germany (2024). Works from that exhibition—shown in Greece for the first time—are presented alongside a new body of work created especially for The Breeder.

The title Forever Fish references “forever chemicals,” human-made substances that persist indefinitely in water systems, underscoring the ecological and psychological urgency of Lappas’ inquiry. Whereas the moon crab in Ludwigshafen guided visitors through the subconscious, in Athens the fish becomes a figure of endurance—at once vulnerable and resilient—illuminating our intimate, precarious connection with aquatic life and the environments we inhabit.

Moving fluidly between painting, sculpture, sound and installation, Lappas interlaces fragments of figuration and abstraction into immersive environments. His luminous paintings of riverine and oceanic creatures suggest beings that hover between myth and biology. Textiles, sculptural interventions and murals extend these images into space, enveloping visitors in multi-sensory encounters that blur the boundaries between human and more-than-human experience.

In Forever Fish, water emerges as both subject and metaphor: an element that sustains life, holds memory and bears the marks of human impact. Lappas’ works embrace this duality, where fluid gestures of care and healing are shadowed by undercurrents of ecological fragility. The exhibition unfolds as an interconnected environment, balancing exuberant form and vivid color with an acute awareness of vulnerability and precarity.

Guided by what he describes as a search for “a language of healing,” Lappas’ practice resists anthropocentric frameworks and acknowledges the interdependence of all life forms. Forever Fish invites audiences into an aqueous world where pain, care, and transformation can be collectively imagined.

Aristeidis Lappas (b. Athens, 1993) lives and works between Athens and London. He studied in the University of West England, Bristol, UK, and Academia De Belle Art, Bologna, Italy. Currently he is based in London where he studies for an MFA in Art & Ecology at Goldsmiths. His work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions like: Gift of the Moon Crab, Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Germany (2024, solo); Seven Days in New Crete, The Breeder, Athens (2023, solo); Tenderness of a Cutting Sword, The Breeder, Athens, (2020, solo); Theorimata 2, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (2020, group); Break Time Contemplations, Transformer, Washington D.C. (2018, group). In 2022 he created She Who Protects, a mural at Omonoia Square, produced by Onassis Stegi. He has participated in many residencies like St.A.I.R., Graz, Austria, Tryfon Art Residency, Lesvos, Greece, Thermia Project, Kythnos, Greece, among others. His work was included in the 7th Athens Biennale Eclipse (2021).

Special thanks to all the people that helped produce the show:

Stephania Orati, Iliana Baferou – Production Assistants.

Dimitris Kalamaras – Music Production.

Eleni Mastrogeorgopoulou, Manolis Levidianos -Design and Fabrication.