Fire (2024) is a site specific ephemeral window installation for the August 2024 edition of Kalo Mina by Greek-Canadian artist Louis-Philippe Scoufaras. It consists of an intricate collage of flames that covers the entirety of the windows facing both streets of the show room, suggesting that the business is closed and referring to Athens being a hot and deserted city during the month of August. In the window facing Mavromichalis street the artist has left a rectangular aperture in the installation that allows people to look into the art space, revealing a poem which is affixed to an exhibition wall. The poem refers to the energy of fire as a force of change, of transformation and is printed in poster format on a sheet of paper hung on the wall. 

 

Fire plays a complex role in the contemporary consciousness, especially in a country like Greece. It certainly is a source of fear and tragedy, when it consumes the rare forested landscapes, but it is also tied to energy, regeneration, force and beauty. The installation is a cathartic attempt of reconciling an ambiguous element through a large scale detailed work and metaphoric poetry.

 

Louis-Philippe Scoufaras was born in Montreal. He lives and works in Athens. His work articulates a relationship between sound composition and formal representation, with a focus on time and its possible transformation in monumental terms. His works have been shown in various institutions such as the B. Georgiou marble sculpting workshop Athens, xavierlaboulbenne Berlin, Akademie Schloss Solitude Stuttgart, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, OMS One Minute Space Athens, Zoumboulakis Gallery Athens and at "This Current Between Us" at the Historic Steam Electric Station of Neo Faliro, Pireaus.