Janis Rafailidou Explained

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.[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

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. 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. Her debut feature film, Kala azar, 2020 premiered and awarded at IFFR and New Directors/ New Films at Moma.

Selected works

2010

2012

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.[7]

2013

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’).[9] The trilogy evades anthropocentric conceptions of death, mourning and melancholia, framing them in a post-human narrative. Each video narrates a burial, exploring the common vulnerability and shared pain between humans and non-humans. The work exemplifies Rafalidou's cinematic narrative as characterised by a realism suspended between personal impression and actuality.

2014

2015

2016

2018

2019

2020

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.[30] [31]

2021

Selected exhibitions

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2022

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Janis Rafa . Janis Rafailidou.
  2. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Janis Rafa . La Biennale di Venezia.
  3. Web site: Janis Rafailidou guides us to her non-anthropocentric universe . ARTWORKS Fellows.
  4. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Dad Where Are You? . Janis Rafa.
  5. Web site: 4 October 2022 . I Thought I Found You But I Was Looking On Footage Of A Different Country . Janis Rafa.
  6. Web site: 4 October 2022 . I Thought I Found You, Dad Where Are You? . Janis Rafa.
  7. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Exit K1 . IMDb.
  8. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Three Farewells . Janis Rafa.
  9. Web site: Three Farewells – Loop Barcelona . 2022-10-04 . loop-barcelona.com.
  10. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Our Dead Dogs . Janis Rafa.
  11. Web site: 4 October 2022 . The Last Burial . Janis Rafa.
  12. Web site: 4 October 2022 . 8 Kilos of Garden . Janis Rafa.
  13. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Configuration of the Man Who Has Seen Without Being Seen . Janis Rafa.
  14. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Winter Came Early . Janis Rafa.
  15. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Untitled . Janis Rafa.
  16. Web site: 4 October 2022 . There She Blows . Janis Rafa.
  17. Web site: 4 October 2022 . This Thin Crust On Earth . Janis Rafa.
  18. Web site: 4 October 2022 . This Thin Crust of Earth . Janis Rafa.
  19. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Covers . Janis Rafa.
  20. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Take 11: What Remains Is a Wound Disembodied . Janis Rafa.
  21. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Covers, Footplates #1–2 . Janis Rafa.
  22. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Another 10kg of Garden . Janis Rafa.
  23. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Take 11 . Janis Rafa.
  24. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Verism#1–5 . Janis Rafa.
  25. Web site: 4 October 2022 . In the Flat Field #5818 . Janis Rafa.
  26. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Verism#2–5 . Janis Rafa.
  27. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Another 10kg of Garden, And Another 15kg of Garden (We Know This Is A.) . Janis Rafa.
  28. Web site: Janis Rafa . 2022-10-04 . Vimeo . en.
  29. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Kala Azar . Janis Rafa.
  30. News: KNF Award. staff. International Film Festival Rotterdam.
  31. News: Hong Kong film festival announces competition winners for cancelled edition. Shackleton, Liz. Screen International.
  32. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Lacerate . Janis Rafa.
  33. Web site: 4 October 2022 . Waiting For Time To Pass . Janis Rafa.
  34. Web site: 4 October 2022 . I Am The Daughter Of A Sheep . Janis Rafa.
  35. Web site: Janis Rafa and the Fear of Leaving the Animal Forever Forgotten Under the Ground Eye Filmmuseum . 2022-10-04 . www.eyefilm.nl . en.
  36. Web site: Janis Rafa: Eaten by Non-humans . 2022-10-04 . Janis Rafa: Eaten by Non-humans — Centraal Museum Utrecht . en.

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