The a.antonopoulou.art gallery presents Filippos Tsitsopoulos’ solo exhibition entitled Auction of Morality, which will feature his performance of the same name, divided into three autonomous parts and based on texts by James Baldwin, Chief Seattle, Peter Handke, and Heiner Müller.

This exhibition focuses on the political rifts of our time, where democratic institutions are eroding, societies are becoming polarized, and the histories of peoples are being turned into tools for public use, often without respect or consideration. Through drawings and a series of performances, the exhibition examines how pain and injustice circulate in today’s global culture, how they are transferred from screen to screen, how they become symbols, and how they are used without understanding their depth and truth.

The performances do not represent political events; however, they speak about them. Through the reading of selected texts, issues of morality in relation to acts of violence, solidarity, and democracy are highlighted. The artist attempts to pose dilemmas of social reflexes, using his body as a space for expressing relevant questions.

Who has the right to speak? Who remains silent? Who is heard?

At the heart of the project lies a political paradox: a European artist narrates the stories of other peoples, knowing that this position is already fraught with contradictions. The exhibition does not attempt to resolve this contradiction but to highlight it, posing moral and political questions to the audience.

The project engages with realities from different parts of the world—Palestine, Rwanda, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chechnya, Venezuela. It does not represent them, but reflects on the way Europe observes them: fragmentarily, through images and deliberately filtered information, producing feelings of familiarity with scenes that are distant and often detached from Western reality.

This “distance” is the political substance of the work: the relationship between the observer and the victim of violence.

The political background of the exhibition is linked to Fernando Castro Flórez’s thoughts on the destabilization of societies and identity. When narratives collapse and memory dissolves, what remains is a space where people try to understand who they are and where they belong. The performances in Auction of Morality function as live tests of this uncertainty, showing how fragile identity is and how easily stories can be distorted or exploited.

As viewers watch the video, drawings, and live actions, they are invited to confront their own position on political violence, injustice, and the ethics of viewing. In an age where everything becomes an image, the exhibition reminds us that solidarity is not a spectacle and pain is not material to be used.

In this climate, the strange phrase heard in the performance takes on a political dimension:

“Free Europe.”

Not to erase history, but to acknowledge that Europe cannot preach freedom to others while remaining blind to its own contradictions:
its selective compassion,
in the revival of authoritarian attitudes,
in the colonial traces that still influence its political stance,
in the cultural industry that turns tragedy into capital.

Auction of Morality does not seek solutions. It opens rifts.
It offers no consolation. It raises questions.
It does not seek redemption. It seeks responsibility.

*The performances will take place at the gallery on Saturdays, January 24 and 31, and at the closing of the exhibition on February 7, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Duration: 35-40 minutes.

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Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. & Saturday 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Aristofanous 20, 105 54, Athens/ + 30 210 3214994 / email: [email protected], www.aaart.gr