Hyperhidrosis: Sweating Together

Critic's commentary:

A group exhibition about the fluid nature of human beings, where water and perspiration are the main source of inspiration. This project is more than just an art exhibition: it is the basis for an insightful and innovative study of our existence and our relationship with our surrounding environment —don't miss it. 

PRESS RELEASE

ATOPOS cvc with the Office of Hydrocommons and the Museum of Modern Greek Culture present the exhibition Hyperhidrosis: Sweating Together, inaugurating on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM at the Bath House of the Winds (8 Kyrristou Street, Plaka).

This contemporary art exhibition explores sweating as both a biological and symbolic process that connects the human body with the natural and technological environment. As a fundamental mechanism of thermoregulation, sweat plays a critical role in sustaining the balance of both living organisms and ecosystems. In the plant world, transpiration performs an equivalent function—modulating temperature and supporting the continuity of the water cycle.

In our current era, AI infrastructures demand enormous volumes of potable water for cooling, echoing human perspiration through an artificial process. The disruption of these thermoregulatory systems—whether due to environmental shifts or human intervention—raises urgent questions around sustainability. In this context, "hyperhidrosis" becomes a metaphor for imbalance—impacting both ecological systems and social structures.

Engaging with the historic site of the Bath House of the Winds, the exhibition positions hyperhidrosis as a point of convergence between social and ecological discourse. It draws from the rituals and philosophies of communal bathing, framing the bathhouse as a space of care, coexistence and environmental interdependence—a model of social and ecological collectivity.

Ottoman baths offer an enduring paradigm of beneficial sweating—linked to both physical and mental well-being—accessible to all, without exclusion. The Bath House of the Winds thus becomes an ideal architectural and symbolic vessel for this contemporary exploration of ecology, inclusion and embodied experience.

Through works by Ileana Arnaoutou, Eleni Bagaki, Panos Charalambous, Despina Charitonidi, Sarah Ettlinger, Martha Panagiotopoulou, Marios Stamatis, Elektra Stampoulou, sweat is transformed into a visual and conceptual language—speaking to interdependence and the urgent need to redefine our relationship with the environment. The exhibition opens a nuanced dialogue between heritage and contemporary practice, embedding the ethos of the Ottoman bath within a current artistic vocabulary.

Duration: 03.05–04.08.2025

Opening hours: 08:30–15:30, closed on Tuesdays

Where: Bath House of the Winds, 8 Kyrristou, 105 56 Plaka, Athens

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CREDITS

Organization Museum of Modern Greek Culture, ATOPOS cvc x Office of Hydrocommons
General Coordination Elena Melidi (Director of the Museum of Modern Greek Culture)
Museological and Μuseographical Curation Niki Dafni (Curator, Department of Exhibitions, Communication and Education of the Museum of Modern Greek Culture), Eleni Riga & Vassilis Zidianakis (ATOPOS cvc x Office of Hydrocommons)
Artists Ileana Arnaoutou, Eleni Bagaki, Panos Charalambous, Despina Charitonidi, Sarah Ettlinger, Martha Panagiotopoulou, Marios Stamatis, Elektra Stampoulou