Andreas Lolis – Prosaic Origins

The publication presents the exhibition, featuring texts and essays by Dimitris
Daskalopoulos, NEON Founder; Elina Kountouri, NEON Director; curator Nayia Yiakoumaki;
an essay on the history of the British School at Athens by its director, John Bennet; an
interview between the artist and the curator and an emotional walkthrough of the
exhibition by renowned archaeologist Colin Renfrew.
City Project is an initiative for public art and the city, conceived and commissioned annually
by NEON to a Greek artist. NEON aims to activate public and historical places through
contemporary art, contributing to the interaction of art, society and the city.

In the 2018 NEON City Project, Prosaic Origins, Andreas Lolis skillfully sculpted objects such
as carved rubbish bags or goods palettes out of marble. The exhibition was presented in the
gardens and library of the British School at Athens, established in 1889. For this historical
setting, Lolis created sculptures that collide with the Western idealisation of Classical Greek
heritage. Curated by Nayia Yiakoumaki, Director of the Hellenic Centre in London, the
exhibition touched upon issues of the material and logistical world of consumption, waste,
and trade, but also the transitory, yet endless, world of circulation and reproduction.