Can poetry inspire comics artists? Can references of love in poetry be translated into images? The exhibition under the title/verse “Let every river envy our mouths” presented at the MOMus-Experimental Center for Arts (Warehouse B1, Thessaloniki port area), from 29 June to 03 September 2023, with the collaboration of the Thessaloniki Comic Convention hosts the answers to the above questions as expressed by 26 artists, comic creators, illustrators and graphic designers.

The exhibition presents works submitted to the previous open call for interest, in order to render artistically on paper romantic moments from Greek and world literature and poetry. This combination, original for this particular community of creators, aimed to create a new field of erotic iconography. Through references to texts by Anne Carson, E.E. Cummings, Ocean Vuong, Sarah Cane, Marios Chatziprokopiou, but also others chosen by the creators of the comics themselves, the exhibition presents a new erotic iconography, beyond stereotypes and conventional approaches to the erotic element.

Text intertwines with image, desire becomes guilt-free, playful style and sexuality come to the fore, the body meets desire tenderly or provocatively. The wide spectrum of the comic unfolds in different ways and highlights the multiplicity of artistic expression.

In the context of MOMus’ educational policy, the MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts collaborated with AKTO Art & Design College and especially with the art director Panagiotis Metallinos, in order to train the students in as real professional conditions as possible. Given the high quality of the students’ design proposals for the exhibition “Let every river envy our mouths”, all students’ poster proposals are also presented.

Curated by: Thouli Misiloglou, dep. director MOMus-Experimental Center for the Arts

Consultant for the poetry selection: Vassilis Amanatidis, poet, writer, translator, performer

Graphic designer: Vasilia Karagianni

Participating artists

Maria Arzoglou, Christina Christidi, Dionysis Digonis, Manolis Frangidis, Giorgos Georgiou, Ilia Gkini, Georgia Kalogeropoulou, Myrto Kapnisti, Vassiliki Karapanagiotidou, Evi Kotsinopoulou, Nadia Kotsinopoulou, Stavrina Kykalou, Nefeli Kyriakou, Anastasia Mavromatidou, Eleftheria Moscha, Varvara Mouratidou, Giorgos Palaiologos, Vassiliki Panayiotou, Stratis Tavlaridis, Ismini Teligioridou, Christina Thalassa, Dimitris Trakosas, Faethon Vandoros, Elena Viseri, Katerina Vlahbei, Giorgos Vogiatzis