Rinos Stefani made St. George and the Dragon for Eco Art 2019
The sculpture St. George and the Dragon is a sculpture in the archaeological site of Efta Ai-Giorkies area, Geroskipou. It was produced for the project Eco Art 2019: Public Nature, Private Culture in the framework of European Capital of Culture, Paphos 2017.
The curator of the project Hermann Pitz writes: The Efta Ai Giorκies area is a complex of caves and ancient burial chambers cut into a rocky plateau to the southwest of Yeroskipou. However, the intervention at the archaeological site is not invasive but rather a sensitive dialogue with the area.
The most common story about the area goes like this: “Yeroskipou had a lot of water, that’s why Aphrodite chose to cultivate her beautiful gardens there. One day, a dragon invaded the area, took over the water spring and terrorised the town. Besides blocking the water supply, the dragon demanded a girl from every family. The people of Yeroskipou were in despair. So, when Saint George, protector of water, heard about this, he came running on horseback and slayed the dragon. He saved the town and let the water flow again to the gardens and orchards of Yeroskipou”.
St. George and the Dragon as a metaphor of water and violence against nature
The installation of Rinos Stefani consists of a big tree trunk with several saws on its body which lies horizontally on an empty reservoir. The title ‘Saint George and the Dragon becomes a pretext and is open to multiple interpretations. Stefani has often used images of tree trunks and saws as metaphors of violence against nature. Violence is a core theme in his work. The choice of an agrarian cistern invokes the vital element of water; in this case implies the water scarcity in Cyprus and underlines the primacy of human survival.
Rinos Stefani’s “Saint George and the Dragon” seems to symbolize our anthropocene epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact upon the Earth’s geology and ecosystems, including anthropogenic climate change. His tree is a victim to the way humans exploit nature.
Rinos Stefani explores the dialectics of opposite elements and the aggressive aspect of reality. He treats his visual language and materials as a game of opposites. Unity – tension and freshness are the main desiderata and this becomes an exciting process.
