The Paestum Collages

The Paestum Collages look at the imagery of ruins as fragmented memories and interleave them with a mythology of heavy industry.

This ongoing series of photo-montage were inspired by Lijn’s return to Greece in 2005 on the invitation of the American College of Greece, after a 35 year absence. ‘When asked to exhibit my work in Athens, I thought of investigating the ancient site of Eleusis, reputed to be the place where Demeter descended to the underworld to find Kore (Persephone).’

Facilitated by ACG curator Megakles Rogakos, Lijn explored the twelve mile road known as the Sacred Way that in Classical Greece was the processional way for the Panathenaic celebration and the Eleusian Mysteries.

The ancient road from the Parthenon to Eleusis, the temple site of the Eleusian Mysteries in Ancient Greece, still exists. The Sacred Way now resounds to the roar of trucks and Eleusis is, since many years, a centre of Greek heavy industry. I first discovered this in the early 1960’s when I spent three years living just outside Athens. I visited the temple site of Eleusis, where Demeter entered the Underworld to retrieve her daughter Persephone from Hades. I found it surrounded by the smoking chimneys of oil refineries, steel mills, and cement factories. I was shocked and disgusted that Greece had neglected its ancient heritage so blatantly. More recently, however, I have become fascinated by the way in which industry seems often to position itself upon the very sites that were once sacred to men and women.

Lijn visited two major industrial complexes, Halivourgiki Steel S.A. and Hellenic Petrol S.A., the giant state oil refinery, sited along Iera Odos ( Sacred Way), just outside Eleusis, photographing and filming both complexes.

In 2011, Lijn’s exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum also allowed her to look through his large collection of Piranese graphic works, subsequently allowing her to use scans of his drawings of the Basilica and temples at Paestum.

Fire in the Temple l
2011
59.2 x 83.cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidonwith photographs of arc furnace steel smelting in Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on grey card.

Fire in the Temple II
2011
45.0 x 54.2cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidonwith photographs of arc furnace steel smelting in Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on Museum board.

Fire in the Temple IIl
2011
43.6 x 54.7cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidonwith photographs of arc furnace steel smelting in Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on acid-free Oyster paper, digital scans on acid-free Somerset and mounted on archival Museum board.

Paestum l
2011
50 x 65.2cm
Photomontage of Piranese Basilica andTemples of Poseidonprinted on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on white board.

Paestum ll
2011
50 x 65.2cm
Photomontage of Piranese Basilica andTemples of Poseidonprinted on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on grey card.
Paestum lll
2011
42 x 59.3cm
Photomontage of Piranese Basilica andTemples of Poseidonprinted on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on black card

Paestum lV
2011
41.9 x 59.4cm
Photomontage of Piranese Basilica andTemples of Poseidonand Lijn photographs of Halivourgiki Steel S.A., Eleusis, printed on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on black card.

Sacred Geometry/ Conjunction of Faith
2011
56 x 77cm
Cut-up of digital scans of Piranese Basilica of Paestummounted on Fabbriano museum board.

Sacred Substance I
2012
47 x 83.5cm
Photo–montage of Lijn photographs of Hellenic Petrol S.A. on the Sacred Way, Eleusis, Greece and scans of Piranese Temple of Neptune in Paestum. 271gsm Oyster and Somerset enhanced Satin 225gsm mounted on cream card.

Sacred Substance ll
2012
47  x 57cm
Photo–montage of Lijn photographs of Hellenic Petrol S.A. on the Sacred Way, Eleusis, Greece and scans of Piranese Temple of Neptune in Paestum. 271gsm Oyster and Somerset enhanced Satin 225gsm mounted on cream card.

Steel Fire Temple l
2011
56 x 84cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidon with photographs of arc furnace steel smelting in Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on Epson high gloss acid-free photographic paper mounted on cream card

Steel Fire Temple ll
2011
48 x 84cm
Original photo–montage of Lijn photographs of Halivourgiki Steel S.A. on the Sacred Way, Eleusis, Greece and scans of Piranese Temple of Neptune in Paestum, Italy.
271gsm Oyster and Somerset enhanced Satin 225gsm
Can also be had as a giclé digital print, edition of 15.

Previously exhibited:
Light Years Riflemaker Gallery, London
Also featured in Very Magazine.
Liliane Lijn’s recent work as featured in her Lightyears exhibitions is featured in a four page article in Very Magazine 16. Her Nine Layer collage animation is featured in the Very iPad.
www.verystyleguide.com

Steel Fire Temple lll / Temple of Steel
2011
56 x 76cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidonwith photographs of Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on acid-free Oyster paper, digital scans on acid-free Somerset and mounted on archival Museum board.
 
Temple Geometry/The Geometry of Temples
2011
45 x 54 cm
Cut-up of digital scans of Piranese Basilica of Paestumprinted on acid-free Somerset enhanced Satin 225gsm and mounted on a vellum card.

Ruined Temple
2011
49.8 x 71cm
The nine layer collage of photographs of Halivourgiki Steel S.A. and Piranese Temples of Paestum mounted on black acid-free card.

Zeus in the Temple of Poseidon l
2011
41.5 x 59cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidonwith photographs of arc furnace steel smelting in Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on acid-free Oyster paper, digital scans on acid-free Somerset and mounted on archival Museum board.

Zeus in the Temple of Poseidon Il
2011
42 x 59cm
Photomontage of Piranese Temple of Poseidonwith photographs of arc furnace steel smelting in Halivourgiki Steel S.A. Photographs printed on acid-free Oyster paper, digital scans on acid-free Somerset and mounted on archival Museum board.

Zeus in the Temple of Poseidon lII
2011
33 x 48.3 cm
Cut-out of Piranese Temple of Poseidonpositioned on photograph taken in Halivourki steel mill, unmounted.

Out of Time Out of Place
2012
47 x 57 cm
Photomontage of Piranese Basilica andTemples of Poseidonand Lijn photographs of Halivourgiki Steel S.A., Eleusis, printed on Epson high gloss ac id-free photographic paper mounted on cream card.
 
Surprising Encounter
2012
43 x 57cm
Photomontage of Piranese Basilica andTemples of Poseidonand Lijn photographs of Halivourgiki Steel S.A., Eleusis, printed on Epson high gloss ac id-free photographic paper mounted on cream card.

Sylvan Temple
2011
48 x 84cm
271gsm Oyster and Somerset enhanced Satin 225gsm

Original photo–montage of Lijn photographs of Umbrian woods and scans of Piranese Temple of Neptune in Paestum, Italy.

Image Credits: Stephen Weiss, Richard Wilding, Lewis Ronald, courtesy of the artist.