The project – conceived for Spazio Molini as a site-specific intervention – investigates the apparent familiarity of the motifs and patterns of public space, activating a critical enquiry into the theme of hostile architecture, understood as an expression of a "paranoid and anxious" (Robert Park) design that conflicts with the bodily experience of individuals in urban space, compromising their personal and political freedoms.
Meletiou assumes the ambiguity of the concept of decorum as his starting point, intended on the one hand as decoration, and on the other as decency, by drawing on everyday objects to convert them into high-tension systems. The use of imagery linked to play is an important element in his production, as expressed in the reference to children's merry-go-rounds or abacuses. The process of gradual dramatisation of the material alters the primordial vocation of these objects, revealing a new inhospitable and insidious nature, as stated in the ambiguous parallelism with the structures of hostile architecture.
The artist's works are in turn architectures that create physically impacting paths. Impediments, obligatory directions and openings to unexplored viewpoints direct spectators’ attention by affecting their possibilities of movement. In this sense, one could not avoid the reference to the Cypriot socio-political context, echoing in the symbolic concept of wall or barrier.
On the occasion of the exhibition, the artist's book Epidermis, published by Viaindustriae, will be produced and presented. The publication will bring together a series of theoretical contributions on the main themes of the exhibition and a selection of limited edition prints by the artist.
The exhibition is realised in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Rome.
The project, which is promoted by Roma Capitale – Department of Culture, is the winner of the 'Estate Romana 2022 - Riaccendiamo la Città, Insieme' Public Notice curated by the Department of Cultural Activities.