Theodoros Zafeiropoulos | Jus Soli

The legal term ‘Jus soli’ determines that if birth takes place on the territory of a state, nationality or citizenship is automatically acquired on an unconditional basis as an inalienable right.

Nitra Gallery in Thessaloniki inaugurates the 10th solo exhibition of Theodoros Zafeiropoulos where he presents a series of images structured with multiple levels that create a three-dimensional visual effect. Extensive drawing notes, photographic collages and digital UV prints on the transparent surface of the glass create multifocal landscapes.

The imprinting of the landscape, through layering process, confronts us with a fragmented world in which each component works as a piece of an unorthodox puzzle. The painted fragments complement and integrate with the photographic image inviting the viewer to experience the space and explore the depth of the works.

Excerpts from the artist’s recent journeys in border regions of Greece and Albania are transformed into ideal areas of dystopia. A rocky island floats in the blue of the Aegean Sea. A rugged and remote land, yet a destination of unique salvation. Harsh fields are waiting plowing to become systematic crops and correspondingly flooded areas remain a waste of drainage studies.

The exhibits work as wall-mounted containers that are posing multiple questions:

Is the ground a robust background on which human activity is taking place and deigned?

How does the earth as a carrier of geographic and geological historicity have the right to claim the necessity of returning to the idea of “birthplace”?

Theodoros Zafeiropoulos
Born in 1978. He graduated with honors from the School of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2003). He participated in the Erasmus program in the University of Barcelona (2001). He graduated with honors from the MFA program of the School of Fine Arts in Athens (2006). He graduated and was honored with the Paula Rhodes Memorial Award from the MFA program of the School of Visual Arts, New York, USA as recipient of the Fulbright, Gerondelis and Al.Onassis Foundations scholarships (2009).  He participated in the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture(2009). He received his PhD  from the School of Architecture, University of Thessaly and since 2001 he has presented 8 solo shows and has participated in more than 50 international group shows, residencies, and projects in Greece, USA, and elsewhere. He received commissions to create site-specific installations in many institutions and Foundations including the Morton Arboretum in Lisle Illinois, USA, the Museum of Civil Aviation in Athens, and many more. His artworks are part of many public and private collections in Greece, Switzerland, London, USA, and elsewhere. Articles and reviews of his works have been published in many Greek and international magazines, newspapers, and web-media. In 2013 he was resident artist in the Flux Factory in NYC and the USF residency program in Bergen, Norway. In 2013 he was selected to represent Greece in the 16th Biennale of European and Mediterranean Young Artists entitled Errors Allowed, in Ancona, Italy. In 2014 he participated in the Photo Biennale of the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and in 2017 he was invited to the Biennale of Young Artists in Tirana, Albania. In 2017 he was elected Assistant Professor at the National Technical University of Athens at the Department of Architecture.