The Athens Municipal Gallery will host “How Do We Sleep While We Are Burning?”, a new exhibition by the Horror Vacui art collective, from Sept. 18 to Oct. 18, inviting visitors to confront the crises and impasses of contemporary life.
Curated by Stratis Pantazis and supported by the City of Athens Organization for Culture, Sports and Youth, the exhibition brings together eight artists whose work examines the dual nature of fire—both literal and symbolic.
The title is a variation on the iconic line “How do we sleep while our beds are burnin’?” from the legendary Australian rock band Midnight Oil’s song “Beds Are Burning.” Released 40 years ago, the song emerged from the struggle for the rights of Aboriginal Australians. Its central question, the exhibition argues, remains strikingly relevant in an era marked by successive economic, political, social and environmental crises.
Fire as destruction and renewal
Fire provides the exhibition’s central theme, appearing in the artists’ work as both a source of destruction and a potential force for renewal.
Antigone Kavvatha, GIFT, 2024. 100cm x 85cm, acrylic on mylar.
Annita Argiropoulou, The Dance.
On one side, fire represents warmth, love, life and the drive toward creativity and progress. On the other, it evokes punishment, destruction, self-destruction and death.
Through these contrasting meanings, the exhibition explores the tension between the forces that sustain life and those that threaten it. The participating artists seek to unsettle viewers and challenge them to move beyond their comfort zones.
The exhibition ultimately issues a call for awakening: to emerge from a state of lethargy, confront the crises surrounding us and seek catharsis and renewal through the ashes of what has been destroyed.
Barbara Spiliou, Positive-Negative, 2020. 100cm x 100cm, mixed media.
Charalambos Dermatis, HYPNOKOSMOS2026.
Eight artists from Horror Vacui
The exhibition features eight artists from the Horror Vacui collective:
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Annita Argyroiliopoulou
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Andreas Voussouras
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Charalambos Dermatis
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Antigoni Kavvatha
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Andreas Lyberatos
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Evsevia Michailidou
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Varvara Spyrouli
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Martha Tsiara
Their works approach the exhibition’s central themes through the recurring symbolism of fire, connecting destruction with the possibility of transformation and rebirth.
Efsevia Mihailidou, The Gate, 2023. 1m x 139m, clay, paper and acrylic.
TAUSE.
Andreas Lyberatos, Flaming Figure, 2025. 198cm x 117cm, mixed media.
Exhibition details
“How Do We Sleep While We Are Burning?” will be on view at the Athens Municipal Gallery’s Building B in Metaxourgeio, a central Athens neighborhood, from Sept. 18 through Oct. 18.
The opening will take place on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. Admission is free.
The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.
