Exhibit8 gallery in Limassol presents the second solo photography exhibition of Georgios N. Paparoditis. Under the title Aru Naru Suru – Beauty in rural Japan, the exhibition showcases the results of a study of traditional Japanese aesthetics through the medium of photography. Aru, Naru, Suru – i.e. to exist, to become, to make – are fundamental principles of beauty, deeply rooted in the traditional Japanese arts, as is the Japanese tea ceremony, the art of Ikebana (flower arrangement), ceramics or woodworking. Under the mentorship of the Japanese Artist and Master woodworker Masaharu Izaki, these aesthetic principles were studied by Paparoditis over a period of 6 months in everyday life scenes.
The opening event will be held by the Ambassador of Japan in Cyprus, Yoshio Yamawaki, on Friday, December 1st, at 19.30. The exhibition will last till the 16th of December, under the auspices of the Embassy of Japan in Cyprus.
The photographs comprising Aru Naru Suru – Beauty in Rural Japan feature themes that range from architectural, to rural and natural. The beauty that they convey deals with the coexistence of nature and humanity, the relationship between the naturally grown and the man-made. Examined from the perspective of the maker, this beauty exists on a spectrum ranging from aru to suru, depending on how much the artist has interfered with the beauty he found in nature:
Aru – a beauty that exists by itself in nature and is found, but not disturbed, by humans.
Naru – a beauty that is found by humans and is rearranged in a way to elevate and explain that beauty.
Suru – a beauty that consists of humans actively creating something out of the beauty that they found.
In a series of 30 photographs Georgios N. Paparoditis presents an artistic research of how these principles appear in everyday life scenes in Japanese rural areas. The photographs of Aru Naru Suru – Beauty in rural Japan are printed on true fibre art paper and framed in a style reminiscent of the Japanese Kakemono (hanging scrolls).
Georgios N. Paparoditis is a woodworker and photographer. He studied architecture and completed the traditional education as a furnituremaker in Germany. In parallel, he practised professional photography for the past 7 years. In December 2022 Paparoditis moved back to Cyprus and held a solo documentary photography exhibition at the Goethe-Institute Nicosia, titled “The Art of Making” focusing on the work and life of 20 Craftspeople in Germany and Cyprus.
The exhibition is realised with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Cyprus.
Curation: Georgios N. Paparoditis & Eleanna Avouri
Duration: 1- 16 December 2023
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 – 23:00/ Saturday: 12.00 – 23:00
Opening event: Friday, December 1, 19.30
Private viewings are available upon request
Exhibit8 Gallery: Hatziloizi Mihailidi 21, Katholiki, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus
Information: www.exhibit8.com.cy, Instagram: exhibit8gallery, facebook: @exhibit8art, tel: +357 25 21 21 71
