16/04/2026
The solo exhibition “Which side are you on?” by Artemis Potamianou, represented by ENIA Gallery, is presented at ID Gallery (Stockholm, Sweden). The opening will take place on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 17:00.
Which side are you on? is a scathing comment on the social conditions that may signify either protection or confinement for women. In her installation at ID Gallery, Artemis Potamianou composes an environmental narrative that unfolds in space as a reflection on the totality of female experience, juxtaposed with the still unrealized dream of freedom and true equality.
The exhibition space is transformed into a site-specific installation, metaphorically operating as a cage that contains a series of elaborate birdcages. Within these structures, the artist encloses objects that function as symbols of socially constructed roles and expectations: toys traditionally associated with girls, suggestive of early conditioning toward domesticity and motherhood, alongside clocks, keys, and identity cards. These elements point to the persistence of stereotypes that define and confine the perceived nature of women. Surrounding the installation, a hand-crafted wallpaper reminiscent of another era unfolds across the space, bearing classical floral motifs within which hidden eyes are embedded—silent observers that evoke a condition of constant surveillance, reinforcing the sense of control and restriction.
Drawing from the visual language of art history, Potamianou references depictions of female figures standing before open cages, releasing birds into the air—a gesture historically associated with emancipation and the fragile condition of the female subject. Here, however, this gesture is reconsidered. The cage itself, echoing the ornate constructions of earlier periods that often replicated architectural forms, borrows from the structure of a dismantled building. It emerges as an ambivalent symbol, oscillating between shelter and prison, depending on the viewer’s perception.
Alongside the installation, the video work Art scene – Art seen is presented as a two-channel projection composed of two videos in direct synergy. The first assembles a collage of excerpts in which well-known artists speak about their work, while the second brings together cinematic scenes depicting the lives of artists in moments of creation. Through this parallel structure, the work examines the life, struggle, fear of failure, and continuous pursuit of recognition, as well as the mechanisms and “backstage” processes behind artistic establishment. The juxtaposition of lived reality and its stylized, often idealized cinematic representation forms a critical commentary on the myths surrounding artistic identity—both as constructed by the film industry and perpetuated by artists themselves.
Together, the works invite viewers to reflect on systems of representation, control, and self-definition, posing an open question: which side are you on?
FREE ENTRANCE
Exhibition Dates: April 24–28, 2026
Opening: Friday, April 24, 2026, 17:00–20:00
Opening Hours: Friday 17:00–20:00, Saturday and Sunday 12:00–17:00
Address: Tjärhovsgatan 19, 116 28 Stockholm, Sweden
