MIXED MEDIA EXHIBITION AND ZINE

HYPER HYPO, ATHENS, GREECE, 13-22 OCTOBER 2022
 

Banana and the Monkey: Gone Fishing is the first installment of a series of riso printed queer zines created for the children of the future of any age and their cool parents by the cultural platform The Queer Archive. Story and characters are created by filmmaker/curator Konstantinos Menelaou and illustrations by artist George Kontos. The publication has inspired a series of artworks that will be exhibited in the gallery space of Hyper Hyppo.

 

Banana and the Monkey are two unconventional characters that were created through the need for simplicity in the chaotic world that we live in. Not taking their ability to function as human beings for granted and leaning towards a queer lifestyle, they become outcasts, representing the other, possible victims of oppression and injustice. However, their optimistic, positive energy and total neglect for what is perceived as normal are the qualities this project aims to nurture.

 

Konstantinos Menelaou and George Kontos started their conversation on the project in 2020 and in the process they discovered the multiple interpretations deriving from these two characters through different media. The zine was of primal interest aiming at inspiring inclusivity to a younger generation, while the artworks that were created from and inspired by the two characters and their universe present a more open and experimental approach to innocence and unapologetic existence.