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Yorgos Petrou is a Cypriot born, London based visual artist whose practice spans sculpture, performance, photography, film, and writing to make artistic interventions into sites of geographical, historical, and mythical significance.

Taking an experimental and unconventional approach to a broad range of materials, they use highly specialised soft silicone to make human tissue-like structures, as well as industrial materials and everyday objects to create photo-sculptural installations. By doing so, they seek to distort the form, transform surfaces, and explore materiality and its hierarchy in the context of queer bodies in rural environments. They often engage with the liminal space between Asia, Africa, and Europe and their shared colonial histories by looking at stains and remains on peoples and land, focussing on the archaeological - often fragmented - body as it exists within the earth.

 

Yorgos trained at the Royal College of Art and Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK. 

contact: petroudotyorgosatgmaildotcom

selected projects

>As firmly cemented clam-shells fall apart in autumn, so I must take to the road again

Artist in Residence & Solo Exhibition 

30 September - 17 November 2024

Ekso Space, Paphos, Cyprus

 

>My house is burned but I continue to scatter my blossoms as if nothing happened

Listening Session with Stelios Ilchuk

27 October 2024

Roman Odeon, Archaeological site of Paphos, Cyprus

>Like Pots and Waves Break, Film Screening

20 July 2023, Cubitt, London, UK

*

17 September 2023, Art Athina, Greece

*

10 October 2023, Egypt Centre Swansea, UK

*

7 September 2024, TACA Palma, Spain

*

Co-commissioned by Fitzwilliam Museum, supported by Arts Council England

>Porus ART FOR CHANGE 24, Bárbara H Weil Prize

Group Exhibition curated by Aina Pomar Cloquell

6 September - 27 October 2024

with Irene de Andrés, Yorgos Petrou, Sara Regal, Fabrizio Contarino, Nieves Guri and Julià Panadés

Studio Weil, Mallorca, Spain

>ILLA, Artist in Residence

1 April - 1 June 2024

Es Far Cultural, Menorca, Spain 

>Like Dust or Butterflies, Music Album

Co-created with Stelios Ilchuk

Release date 14 March 2024

Bandcamp, Spotify

>Islands are Like Sponges, Artist in Residence

Film Screening and Workshops

1 - 10 October 2023

Egypt Centre, University of Swansea, UK 

>My Past is a Foreign Country, Group Exhibition

8 July - 28 August 2023

Curated by Akis Kokkinos

With Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, Stelios Faitaki, Nikomachi Karakostanoglou, Avish Khebrehzadeh, Maro Michalakakos,

Petros Moris, Dala Nasser, Yorgos Petrou, Aykan Safoğlu, Mounira al Solh, Maria Tsagkari, Abbas Zahedi

DEO PROJECTS, Chios, Greece

>The death and Life of All of Us, performance

Co-directed co-created with Victor Esses

24 - 25 February 2023

Soho Theatre, London, UK

>Doomed Companions, Unsubstantial Shades, Group Exhibition

7 October - 12 November 2022

Curated by Akis Kokkinos 

With Ellie Antoniou, Irini Bachlitzanaki, Savvas Christodoulides, Nikos Kessanlis, Karolina Krasouli, Amanda Kyritsopoulou,

Stathis Logothetis, Maro Michalakakos, Yorgos Petrou, Erica Scourti, Stefania Strouza, Antrea Tzourovits

NEON Organisation, The Hellenic Residency, London, UK

>Unfamiliar to Us, Solo Exhibition 

With Victor Esses

26 June - 17 July 2021

Text by Benoit Loiseau

Silver Building, Join the Docks Festival, London, UK

>Reset. Instructions to begin in a new present

27 December 2020 - 17 January 2021

Curated by Aina Pomar

With Larry Achiampong, Constanza Alarcón Tennen, Irene de Andrés, Rosana Antolí, Anna Dot, Lara Fluxà, Angel Garau, Marco Godoy, Vibeke Mascini, Josep Maynou, Gabriel Pericàs, Yorgos Petrou, Marina Planas, Guillem Portell, Marijo Ribas, David Rickard, Bartomeu Sastre,

Sümer Sayin, Nora Silva, Pep Vidal, Alberta Whittle

TACA, Palma, Mallorca

>UNFAMILIAR, performance 

Created and performed with Victor Esses

10 - 25 November 2020, digital tour 

>Shout Festival, Birmingham 

>The Lowry, Manchester

>Cambridge Junction, Cambridge

>The Place, Bedford

>Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff

>Artsdepot, London

*

16-19 July 2019

CASA Festival

Arcola Theatre, London, UK

*

2 May 2019

Fertility Freedom Scratch, Curated by Tian Glasgow

The Pit, Barbican Centre, London, UK

*

14 March 2019

The Works, scratch night

The Basement, Brighton Dome

*

February & June 2019

Residency at Battersea Arts Centre, London, UK

*

Supported by: Arts Council England, Battersea Arts Centre, The Marlborough theatre,

CASA Festival, The Finnish Institute, Applecart Arts, Cultural Services Cyprus

>Sixth edition of Kingsgate Postal Service

October 2020

With Yorgos Petrou & Nabihah Iqbal

Kingsgate Project Space, London, UK

>I take of places, Solo Exhibition

8-29 February 2020

text by Kiki Mazzucchelli

Kupfer Project Space, London, UK

>(This) precious stone set in the silver sea 

18 January - 6 March 2020

Curated by Aina Pomar

With Irene de Andrés, Erola Arcalís, Inés Cámara Leret, Yorgos Petrou, Stéphanie Saadé, Oscar Santillán + Yoko Ono

Copperfield London, London, UK

>Occupy and echo (a stage)

28 November 2019 - 8 February 2020

Curated by Tom Polo

With Lupo Borgonovo, Leila El Rayes + Justine Youssef, George Haddad, Andrew Haining, Pilar Mata Dupont, Nikos Pantazopoulos
Yorgos Petrou, Joanna Piotrowska, Lisa Radford, Charlie Sofo, Curtis Talwst Santiago, Salote Tawale

ReadingRoom, Melbourne, Australia 

>Modern Queer Poets

Poetry collection from Pilot Press, the independent press founded by artist Richard Porter. Selected by both invitation and open call, Modern Queer Poets features contributions from Eileen Myles, Wayne Kostenbaum and CA Conrad among many others, with two covers by Matt Connors.  

>Pivo Research, Artist in Residence

September - December 2018

Pivô, São Paulo, Brasil

>A Real Job is to Make Something

9,10,16,17 March 2018

An AiR project curated by Margot Bannerman and Anna Hart

With Rob Crosse, Rosie Edwards, Mikhail Karikis, Kate Owens, Kate Keara Pelan, Yorgos Petrou, Michael Taiwo, and Ersin Hussein

Lawrence Works, 249-251 West Green Road, London N15 5ED

>A Million Love Songs

16 - 24 February 2018

Curated by Helen Michael and Anastasia Mina

Film screening with Ellie Kyungran Heo, Kineret Lourie, Markus Vater, Sam Williams, Yorgos Petrou,

Christian Jaskolka and Helen Michael

Korai Project Space, Nicosia, Cyprus

>33° 3' 45'' East

23 November - 2 December 2017

Solo Exhibition accompanied by a text by Thomas Frangenberg.  

The Cyprus High Commission London, 13 St James' Square, London, SW1Y 4LB

>Displacement as a State of Mind

16 - 29 October 2017 | Current

Group Show

Curated by Charis kanellopoulou

With Ioanna Apostolou, Stella Christofi, Lenia Georgiou, Ismini Haholiadou, Stelios Kallinikou, Demetra Kallitsi, Marios Konstantinides, Eleni Mouzourou, Alexandra Pambouka, Yorgos Petrou, Eleni Phyla, Efy Zeniou

Korai Project Space, Nicosia, Cyprus

>Mustafa Hulusi Posters

7 - 14 August 2017

Curated by Mustafa Hulusi

With Dee Ferris, Stefan Bruggemann, Alexandre Da Cunha, Ximena Garrido- Lecca, Leyla Gediz, Edwin Burdis, Guler Ates, Yorgos Petrou, Olivier Richon, Bedwyr Williams, Polys Peslikas

London, UK

>Πλάνητες [Planetes]

28 January 2017- 28 February 2017

Group Show

Curated by Elena Parpa

With Andreas Angelidakis, Rosa Barba, Inal Bilsel, Andrea Bruno, Banu Cennetoğlu, Savvas Christodoulides, Marianna Christofides, Marianna Constanti, Elizabeth Hoak-Doering, Haris Epaminonda, Ben Evans and Alkis Hadjiandreou, Eleni Kamma, Lito Kattou, Nurtane Karagil, Lefteris Olympios, Christodoulos Panayiotou, Yorgos Petrou, Re Aphrodite, Efi Savvides, Socratis Socratous, Lefteris Tapas, Marina Xenofontos, Natalie Yiaxi

Cultural Capital of Europe Pafos, Inaugural Events Programme, Pafos, Cyprus

>Cyence Φiction

Vol. 6 August 2017

Zine

Curated by Loizos Olympios

With Yorgos Petrou, Stella Voskaridou, Chiaki Kamikawa, Marina Kassianidou, Marina Xenofontos, Giorgos Gerontidis,

Dakis Panayiotou, Theodoulos Polyviou in collaboration with Signe Emma under creative platform blør, Elina Ioannou

>Electric Blue

3 December 2016

Film screening

Curated by Maria do Carmo M. P. de Pontes & Benjamin Orlow

With Benjamin Orlow, Cristiano Lenhardt, Daniel Shanken, Elena Damiani, Erik Bendix, Yorgos Petrou, Joey Holder, Lu Yang, Molly Palmer, Stefan Sulzer, The Big Head Scientist

Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil

>Points to Emerge From

23 May - 18 June 2016

Artist in Residence 

VOLKS, Nicosia, Cyprus

>Jonny

23 October - 19 December 2015

Group Show

Curated by curated by Gilles Neiens, Lauren Reid, Marie Graftieaux, Nora Mayr 

With Ivan Argote, Nancy Buchanan, Distruktur, Viking Eggeling, VALIE EXPORT,

Sylvie Fleury, Lotte Meret Effinger, Yorgos Petrou, Elisa Pone, Jonnine Standish

Insitu Space for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany

>Identalterity: But Still in One Piece

23 June – 30 September 2015

Curated by Theodore Markoglou, Syrago Tsiara, Dimitris Michalaros, Anthi Argyriou, Panagis Koutsokostas,

With Lynda Benglis, Ursula Biemann, Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz, Marianne Darlen Solhaugstrand, Yevgeniy Fiks, Kostis Fokas, Hector de Gregorio, Igor Grubic, David Hockney, Deborah Kelly & Tina Fiveash, Majida, Katerina Athanasopoulou, Marilena Aligizaki, Angeliki Avgitidou, Chiara Bertin, Eva Vei Geromichalou, Marina Genadieve, Fred Koenig, Yorgos Petrou, Trix Rosen, Kelly Skoularioti, Manuel Vason, Khattari, Carlos Motta, Slava Mogutin, Natasha Papadopoulou, Antonis Protopatsis, Wolfgang Tillmans, Boryana Rossa – Oleg Mavromatti, Milica Tomic

5th Biennial of Thessaloniki, Greece

>Motherless Beautiful

16 October 2015

Artist's talk curated by Thomas Kiely

British Museum, London, UK

>Motherless Beautiful

11-13 September 2015

Instagram Project

@the_breeder_gallery, Athens, Greece

>Parlour Symbolique: Freud and Eros

29 January 2015

Performance part of 'Freud and Eros: Love, Lust and Longing'

Freud Museum, London, UK

>Bring Your Own Beamer

11 October 2012

Curated by João Laia

London Moving Image Art Fair, London, UK

>Bloomberg New Contemporaries 

23 November 2011 - 12 January 2012

Selectors : Pablo Bronstein, Sarah Jones, Michael Raedecker

With Marie Angeletti, Cornelia Baltes, Joshua Bilton, Sarah Brown, Savinder Bual, David Buckley, Leah Capaldi,Alicja Dobrucka, Tomas Downes, Peles Empire, Katie Goodwin, Kate Groobey, Noel Hensey, Anna Ilsley,Kim Kielhofner, Minae Kim, Se-jin Kim, Sui Kim, Ute Klein, Hyewon Kwon, Hyun Woo Lee, Ian Marshall,Georgina McNamara, Sophie Neury, Rasmus Nilausen, Nick Nowicki, Marco Palmieri, Selma Parlour, George Petrou, Yelena Popova, Jessica Sarah Rinland, Anne Kathrin Schuhmann, Dagmar Schurrer, Alison Stolwood, Jonathan Trayte, Poppy Whatmore, David Ben White, Lisa Wilkens, Samuel Williams, Rafal Zawistowski

ICA, London, UK

>Modern Art Oxford Shorts Program

10 February 2011

An evening of short films to accompany David Austen: End of Love 

Modern Art Oxford, Oxford, UK

>Album

18 September - 17 October 2010

Curated by Morgan Quaintance 

With Greta Alfaro, Johnny Briggs, Rachel Louise Brown, Tom Clarke, Rebecca Court, Emma Critchley, Jenny Ekholm, Kevin Gaffney, Andrew Lacon, Nadege Meriau, Tom Mills, Yorgos Petrou, Tom Pope, Megan Powell, Anne Shuhmann, Vicki Thornton, Hitomi Yoda

Wolstenholme Creative Space, Independents Liverpool Biennial, UK

>Z-time

28 Apr - 9 May 2010

Curated by Mindy Lee and Yelena Popova

Screening to Accompany Exhibition

Moscow Young Artist Biennial, Moscow, Russia

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