Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert

The Archive of Grigoris Antoniou, 40 lantern slides (ambrotypes, 8.5 x 8.5 cm each) on a light box. The artwork includes AI-generated images.

The Archive of Grigoris Antoniou: notes of an archivist, video, 13:20 min. The artwork includes AI-generated images.

The Archive of Grigoris Antoniou is a speculative exploration of the fictional archive of Grigoris Antoniou (c. 1849 - 1940). His contributions to archaeology as a foreman in colonial-era Cyprus and the surrounding region were pivotal but have been largely overlooked by hegemonic historical narratives. Antoniou remained unidentified in photographic archives, until the artists uncovered his likeness in a lantern slide taken by the archaeologist J.L. Myres, at the Institute of Archaeology at Oxford University. A subsequent search identified Antoniou in more archives.

The Archive of Grigoris Antoniou features 40 lantern slides (ambrotypes) and a video projection. The images on the lantern slides include mostly AI-generated visuals and some “re-framed” archival photographs, blurring – glitching – the line between fiction and reality. The artists critically examine archival practices and the complex intersections between colonial photographic records and AI. The installation reflects how colonial-era legacies continue to be entangled in present-day technological tools, thus acting as a form of archival activism.

The video projection follows an archivist at a museum who is documenting the processes of cataloguing, preserving, contextualizing, identifying, and storing this fictional collection of lantern slides. The archivist enlists the assistance of a Museum Bot to interpret the archival materials, though this occasionally leads to conflicting information and unexpected glitches.

Credits:

This work was commissioned by the Hasselblad Foundation and supported by the Cyprus University of Technology and the CYENS Centre of Excellence. The artists extend their gratitude to Demetrios Mina for his expertise in developing the ambrotypes and to Dr. Thomas Kiely, curator of the Cyprus Collection at the British Museum, for his invaluable assistance in researching Grigoris Antoniou

For this project, images from the photographic archives of the Ashmolean Museum, the British Museum, and the HEIR project at the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford University were adapted and used. Although these institutions granted permission to use the images, the artwork reflects solely the views of the artists.

Forthcoming Exhibition:

BUGS & METAMORPHOSIS. The exhibition is curated by Louise Wolthers & Nina Mangalanayagam.

Opening: February 7th, 2025 at the Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden

For information on the forthcoming exhibition of this work please see here: https://www.hasselbladfoundation.org/en/portfolio_page/bugs-metamorphosis/