ALONG LINES AND TRACES - Curatorial Theme

In this fourth Larnaca Biennale, Lines and Traces will serve as the foundation upon which we can imagine metaphoric, symbolic, and physical expressions of how we make sense of our world and our place within it. From the development of lineages and traditions, the narration of stories, and the construction of thought, to the ways we move, connect, communicate, and create meaning, all are acts that draw lines through our shared human experience.

As humans, we are primarily sustained by our actions and our movements in life. What if we were to imagine our world along lines and traces? We might begin by thinking of how our repetitive movements over a territory leave a mark on the natural landscape, or how a simple scraping over a surface might render our existence visible thousands of years later. Not only do the traces speak to us about our past, they also inform our future.

Lines have the power to become barriers, borders, and demarcations, yet they can also form surfaces on which to thrive, as in the warp and weft of a textile, or the accumulation of text and musical notation. The word line etymologically stems from linen, the spun thread of flax fibres, tightly twisted together. The concept of a line is most inspiring when conceived as such: a connection, a deeply intertwined relationship, and a vehicle for exchange.

How can a simple line hold such profound significance? Through the lens of the six T´s: text, territory, textile, touch, tune, and time, we can explore vast realms of movement, language, writing, drawing, mapping, and making. Gradually, a picture begins to emerge of how traces, lines, threads, and their many variations are interwoven into the very fabric of our existence.

In this concept Along Lines and Traces, our focus lies in how thinking about lines can deepen our understanding of human expression in the world. How can the tactile, the shaped, the material, and the sensorial reflect our inner world into the exterior? Can that which is unspoken reach us directly through abstraction?

Within Along Lines and Traces, the participating artists bring this concept to life through a multitude of interpretations and materializations. Each work traces its own path through this landscape, offering new ways to perceive and connect. It is up to the viewer to unravel what is presented, to connect the dots, tie the knots, follow the line, weave the thread, tread the path, and make the connection.