August 30, 2006
Enter into Modern Art Oxford's lower gallery and be engulfed by the easy listening pop melody "Slow Dancin' " as crooned by John Travolta. Panayiotou's work divides his spectators into those who participate by dancing and those who do not. On this visit, it is magical to see the youngsters of a family feel moved to make brief shadows in the video projection of flirtatious fountains and dance as the mood takes them. Visual artist and trained dancer, Panayiotou's other projects include 'Slow Dance Marathon'; a chain of encounters where two strangers slow dance for an hour after which time one dancer leaves to be replaced by another stranger. And so the beat goes on.
This award-winning artist portrays absence and the passing of time by expressing himself via ephemeral media. In this video installation, a diptych is projected onto the two gallery walls. Vapour trails from fighter planes soar through a blue sky and temporarily form the shape of a love heart. Dance influences this work, with an accompanying diptych showing dynamic movement of rainbow lit jets of water in a fast and fizzy choreography. 'Truly' looks at the way we express our deepest intimate emotions using the generic shorthand of candy hearts and other social conventions. His previous work includes a monument made out of two tonnes of confetti collected from the streets of his hometown Limassol, recording an event that has now passed. Panayiotou was born in Cyprus, the reputed birthplace of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. 'Truly', it must be love!
This award-winning artist portrays absence and the passing of time by expressing himself via ephemeral media. In this video installation, a diptych is projected onto the two gallery walls. Vapour trails from fighter planes soar through a blue sky and temporarily form the shape of a love heart. Dance influences this work, with an accompanying diptych showing dynamic movement of rainbow lit jets of water in a fast and fizzy choreography. 'Truly' looks at the way we express our deepest intimate emotions using the generic shorthand of candy hearts and other social conventions. His previous work includes a monument made out of two tonnes of confetti collected from the streets of his hometown Limassol, recording an event that has now passed. Panayiotou was born in Cyprus, the reputed birthplace of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. 'Truly', it must be love!