Wikipedia

Janis Rafailidou

Janis Rafailidou (also known as Janis Rafa), born in Greece 1984, is an artist engaging with sculpture, video art and film.[1] She was recently featured in the 59th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia with her 2020 short film Lacerate, and her work has been acquired by various institutions, such as Centraal Museum, Stedelijk Museum, and Fondazione in Between Art Film.[1][2] Her solo exhibition at the iconic Eye Filmmuseum 2023, showcased videos, films and large-scale sculptures, establishing her practice in the dichotophy of art and film.

Life and work edit

In 2012 Rafailidou obtained a PhD in Fine Art at the University of Leeds. Between 2013 and 2014, she was a resident at the Rijksakademie and in 2020 she was awarded a fellowship at ARTWORKS by S. Niarchos Foundation.[1] It was during her residency at the Dutch Rijksakademie that she began shifting her focus from video art to film.[3] She is now living and working between Athens and Amsterdam.[1] Her debut feature film, Kala azar, 2020 premiered and awarded at IFFR and New Directors/ New Films at Moma.

Selected works edit

2010 edit

  • Dad Where Are You?[4]
  • I Thought I Found You But I Was Looking on Footage of a Different Country[5]
  • I Thought I Found You, Dad Where Are You?[6]

2012 edit

The title of this film refers to a road exit in the outskirts of Athens (GR), "Exit K1", that leads away from the city, onto a dirt road. There, clandestine migrants travel "invisibly", avoiding the immediate metropolitan area. The work explores the reality of Greek periphery through the citizens' perspective.[8]

2013 edit

This piece consists of three videos shot in 4K, 2.40:1 with stereo sound, namely: Father Gravedigger (20’); Our Dead Dogs (17’); The Last Burial (25’).[11] The trilogy evades anthropocentric conceptions of death, mourning and melancholia, framing them in a post-human narrative.[11] Each video narrates a burial, exploring the common vulnerability and shared pain between humans and non-humans.[11] The work exemplifies Rafalidou's cinematic narrative as characterised by a realism suspended between personal impression and actuality.[11]

  • Our Dead Dogs[12]
  • Father Gravedigger[13]
  • The Last Burial[13]
  • 8 Kilos of Garden[14]

2014 edit

  • Requiem to a Shipwreck[15]
  • A Sign of Prosperity to the Dreamer[16]
  • Gravediggers[17]

2015 edit

  • Configuration of the Man Who Has Seen Without Being Seen[18]
  • Requiem to a Fatal Incident[19]
  • Winter Came Early[20]

2016 edit

2018 edit

  • Take 11: What Remains Is a Wound Disembodied[26]
  • Covers, Footplates#1–2[27]
  • Another 10kg of Garden[28]

2019 edit

  • Take 11 (installation)[29]
  • Verism#1–5[30]
  • In the Flat Field #5818[31]
  • Verism#2–5[32]
  • Another 10kg of Garden, and Another 15 kg of Garden (We Know This is A.)[33]

2020 edit

The protagonists of Kala Azar are a couple that works in an animal crematorium and illegally cremate roadkill animals. The film is set in a surrealist universe created by Rafalidou and filled with landscapes, animals, living and dead bodies. Kala Azar has participated in thirty-eight film festivals, among which the 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (2020), receiving a total of nine awards.[36][37]

2021 edit

  • Waiting for Time to Pass[39]
  • I Am the Daughter of a Sheep[40]

Selected exhibitions edit

2015 edit

2016 edit

  • Janis Rafa and The Fear of Leaving the Animal Forever Forgotten Under the Ground, EYE Filmmuseum (Amsterdam, NL), from 2016 to 2021.[41]

2017 edit

2018 edit

2019 edit

2020 edit

  • MAXXI
  • State of Concept Athens

2021 edit

2022 edit

2022 edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Janis Rafa". Janis Rafailidou. 4 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Janis Rafa". La Biennale di Venezia. 4 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Janis Rafailidou guides us to her non-anthropocentric universe". ARTWORKS Fellows.
  4. ^ "Dad Where Are You?". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  5. ^ "I Thought I Found You But I Was Looking On Footage Of A Different Country". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  6. ^ "I Thought I Found You, Dad Where Are You?". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  7. ^ Rafa, Janis (24 August 2012), EXIT K1_TRAILER, retrieved 4 October 2022
  8. ^ "Exit K1". IMDb. 4 October 2022.
  9. ^ Rafa, Janis (25 February 2014), Three Farewells Trilogy TRAILER, retrieved 4 October 2022
  10. ^ "Three Farewells". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d "Three Farewells – Loop Barcelona". loop-barcelona.com. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Our Dead Dogs". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  13. ^ a b "The Last Burial". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  14. ^ "8 Kilos of Garden". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  15. ^ Rafa, Janis (7 January 2015), Requiem to a Shipwreck_TRAILER, retrieved 4 October 2022
  16. ^ Rafa, Janis (13 November 2014), A Sign of Prosperity to the Dreamer_INSTALLATION, retrieved 4 October 2022
  17. ^ Rafa, Janis (11 February 2015), Gravediggers_TRAILER, retrieved 4 October 2022
  18. ^ "Configuration of the Man Who Has Seen Without Being Seen". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  19. ^ Rafa, Janis (2 March 2016), Requiem to a Fatal Incident_TRAILER, retrieved 4 October 2022
  20. ^ "Winter Came Early". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Untitled". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  22. ^ "There She Blows". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  23. ^ "This Thin Crust On Earth". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  24. ^ "This Thin Crust of Earth". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Covers". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Take 11: What Remains Is a Wound Disembodied". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Covers, Footplates #1–2". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Another 10kg of Garden". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Take 11". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  30. ^ "Verism#1–5". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  31. ^ "In the Flat Field #5818". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  32. ^ "Verism#2–5". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Another 10kg of Garden, And Another 15kg of Garden (We Know This Is A.)". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  34. ^ "Janis Rafa". Vimeo. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  35. ^ "Kala Azar". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  36. ^ staff. "KNF Award". International Film Festival Rotterdam.
  37. ^ Shackleton, Liz. "Hong Kong film festival announces competition winners for cancelled edition". Screen International.
  38. ^ "Lacerate". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  39. ^ "Waiting For Time To Pass". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  40. ^ "I Am The Daughter Of A Sheep". Janis Rafa. 4 October 2022.
  41. ^ "Janis Rafa and the Fear of Leaving the Animal Forever Forgotten Under the Ground | Eye Filmmuseum". www.eyefilm.nl. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  42. ^ "Janis Rafa: Eaten by Non-humans". Janis Rafa: Eaten by Non-humans — Centraal Museum Utrecht. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
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