For the duration of the exhibition, Greek artist Alexandros Georgiou –who is participating in the exhibition Why Look at Animals? A Case for the Rights of Non-Human Lives– has set up a painting studio in the Museum’s Café, where twice weekly he invites visitors to bring over their pets so he can paint their portraits, highlighting their individual personalities.
As the artist says: “In Hindu philosophy, animals and humans share the same soul, and after countless reincarnations as different animals we eventually evolve to humans, but then we may at any time revert back to being reborn as an animal, depending on karma. When I was in India, I started looking at animals that I lived with, through that idea of a hidden karmic relationship. While working on portraits of humans during an exhibition last year, I noticed that I was more interested in creating ‘soul portraits’, portraits that went deeper than a realistic representation and somehow attempted to reveal the psyche of the individual, as I saw it with my eyes the moment we met. For the exhibition, I really wanted to continue that practice of live portrait making to include animals and look at them just the way I saw people”.
Every Tuesday: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Every Thursday: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Free participation
Custom built Αrtist’s studio | Design: FLUX Office (Athens)
SOUL PORTRAITS
Book Launch
For almost an entire year, artist Alexandros Georgiou established a temporary live art studio in the ΕΜΣΤ foyer, as part of the Public Programme for the exhibition Why Look at Animals? A Case for the Rights of Non-Human Lives. He invited visitors and their animal companions to participate in a unique portrait-making process—one that involved painting the pets rather than their human owners.
Throughout this project, Georgiou sought to capture not only the animals’ form but also their “soul”—their distinct inner presence—approaching each subject with the sensitivity and attention traditionally reserved for human portraiture. The artist had pledged that once the project ended, these portraits would be gifted to the companions of the animals depicted.
After a year in residence and more than 200 sittings , the studio is now drawing to a close, leaving behind a moving archive of what the artist calls Soul Portraits. ΕΜΣΤ wove this body of work into a unique artist’s book that stands as a tender and vibrant testament to Georgiou’s generosity and commitment, as well as to the deeply affectionate bond we share with our non-human companions. The book launches on Thursday, May 14 at 19:00, at ΕΜΣΤ Café, with copies available for purchase at SHOP AT ΕΜΣΤ following the event.
Visitors may collect their pets’ portraits on the same day, from 19:00 to 22:00, as well as on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, from 11:00 to 14:00. On portrait collection dates, the artist will be present to sign copies of his book.
