A figure trapped in an iron sphere; a woman, the source of life, literally
and metaphorically sits in the ‘centre of the world.’ She attempts to
balance – to no avail. She is taken by the power of movement, rolling
incessantly. Galileo's famous exclamation of defiance echoes: ‘and yet it moves’. Indeed, if the earth is moving, how can we stand still? How can we find a balance in a universe that we don’t control? Where is the centre of this universe and how can we reach it?

In a world where many desire to excel, to be ‘at the centre of the
world’, what is the price that they must pay? How did the woman find
herself in that sphere? Was that a choice? ? ‘Imperceptibly they have
closed me off from the outside world’, wrote C. P. Cavafy.
Imperceptibly? The sphere, which perhaps she so desired, turned into
the woman’s predicament; her choice became her struggle, as she
rests imprisoned, suffocating, without hope of escape.

Lemos’s new piece expands her ongoing exploration of bodies in
unnatural positions, diverse scales and the quest for balance and she
asks from the visitor to find ‘the centre’, their own compass for this universe.

At the Centre of the World opens a space for visitors to reconsider the
tension between inside and outside, body and spirit, material and
immaterial; ultimately, the work raises questions about the limits and
pain of the human body while hinting at all that cannot be fathomed or expressed in the quest for a place ‘at the centre of the world’.

- Dr. Marilena Zaroulia

* The sculpture ‘Iron Sphere’ that was featured in the film was made by Kalliopi Lemos in 2015.