The NEON organization is activating an old quarry on Filopappou Hill to present the exhibition Athens Dies In Dreams At Sunrise by Alexandros Tzannis, curated by Galini Noti.

The new commission to Alexandros Tzannis is part of the NEON City project 2025 program, in which NEON commissions a Greek artist to create a work that is exhibited in a public space for a specific period of time. The aim of the program is to present contemporary art in public and historical spaces, contributing to the interaction between art, society, and the city.

Alexandros Tzannis’ exhibition Athens Dies In Dreams At Sunrise is held in the old quarry on the south side of Filopappou Hill, a place in the city for walks, strolls, sports activities, and rave parties in the 1990s.

At this point, architects Bouki Babalou-Noukaki and Antonis Noukakis created an open structure—an infrastructure for an outdoor sculpture exhibition—as part of the 2003 program to integrate archaeological sites. Although this structure was never used for its original purpose, it remains anchored to the rock as a silent reminder of that intention. The sculpture by Alexandros Tzannis is attached to it, restoring the original intention.

As curator Galini Noti says, “The quarry site on Filopappou Hill, where the exhibition is held, is a natural landscape that has also been shaped by human intervention. From the archaeological site—which at this point does not present any archaeological finds but was used as a quarry—to the design and vision for public space by architects Babalou and Noukaki, Alexandros Tzannis’ exhibition ‘Athens Dies In Dreams At Sunrise’ incorporates all the above data, develops within them and ‘builds’ an additional level on top of them.”

The concept of the parasite as it appears in the city plays a central role in the work of Alexandros Tzannis. A parasite is understood to be any structure that interferes with the environment and gradually becomes an integral part of it.

In the installation Athens Dies In Dreams At Sunrise, the artist creates a parasitic sculpture that surrounds and inhabits the perforated structure that remains like a skeleton. He introduces a strict geometry, forming a rigid frame that acts as a boundary and encloses the space.

The sculpture depicts parts of the branches of the plant scattered on the hill, ‘translated’ into iron through the design of three-dimensional models and industrial production processes. This plant, alfalfa, looks dry but is not; it falls into autumn dormancy and grows again when favorable conditions return. It reminds us of the cycle of life passing through death.

At the base of the sculpture, sunken sports shirts can be seen, a sartorial reference to rave culture and the parties of the 1990s. Some of these took place on Filopappou Hill. The clothes, frozen in a frame that seems fluid but has solidified, echo this culture.

The title of the exhibition, Athens Dies In Dreams At Sunrise, brings us to the end of the party at dawn, to the end of the dream with awakening.

With the CITY PROJECT, NEON aims to present contemporary art in public and historical spaces, contributing to the interaction between art, society, and the city. As part of the program, NEON has commissioned the following artists: Iris Touliatou at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (2024), Dionysis Kavallieratos at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus as part of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival (2020), Panos Kokkinias in an abandoned office space at 4 Sophocleous Street in Athens (2019), Andreas Lolis at the British School of Athens (2018), Kostis Velonis at his residence at 11 Kaplanon Street (2017), Zafo Xagoraris in a parking lot behind the historic Athinaion Theater (2016), Maria Loizidou at the Archaeological Site and Museum of Kerameikos (2015), and Emilia Papafilipou at the Ancient Agora of Athens (2014).

Free Admission

Guided Tours

Alexandros Tzannis |11 December| 18: 30

Galini Noti| 4, 18 December | 18: 30

Participation form https://neon.org.gr/gr/event/guided-tours-neon-city-project-2025-2/ 

Athens Dies In Dreams At Sunrise

Curator: Galini Noti

Old Quarry, Filopappou Hill, Athens

25 November– 21 December 2025 

neon.org.gr