Kleopatra Tsali's Clay Archives and Silkworm Networks Uncover Hidden Ecologies
Athens-based artist Kleopatra Tsali is set to launch her upcoming project, “This Mortal Soil,” in 2024, following her immersive experience in Abram village on Naxos. Through collaboration with the local community, Tsali focused on discovering clay sources, culminating in a unique book map of these deposits. In 2022, she co-founded “Morus” with Irini Gonou and Hanna Norrna to promote home-sericulture practices in Greece and Sweden. This initiative gave rise to the “Silk Cartographies” exhibition at the Agricultural University of Athens, which will continue until June 26, 2026. Tsali's works, such as the “Cucumis Melo Lamps,” explore themes of belonging and migration.
Key facts
- Kleopatra Tsali is an Athens-based artist working with clay, glass, silk, metal, handmade paper, rocks, and found organic materials.
- This Mortal Soil project began in 2024 through The Material Way program in Abram village, Naxos island, Greece.
- Tsali identified clay deposits and stone formations with local residents and created a book map with collected samples.
- The archive of This Mortal Soil is returned to the Abram community as a resource for future generations.
- Morus project was founded in 2022 by Kleopatra Tsali, Irini Gonou, and Hanna Norrna.
- Morus focuses on home-sericulture, breeding silkworms in domestic environments in Greece and Sweden.
- Silk Cartographies exhibition is on view until June 26, 2026 at the Museum of Agriculture of the Agricultural University of Athens, curated by Elli Leventaki.
- Tsali's Cucumis Melo Lamps were shown at Biennale Révélations, Grand Palais, Paris in 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Kleopatra Tsali
- Irini Gonou
- Hanna Norrna
- Elli Leventaki
- Tim Ingold
Institutions
- designboom
- The Material Way
- Morus Project
- Museum of Agriculture of the Agricultural University of Athens
- The Paddocks Gallery
- Biennale Révélations
- Grand Palais
- Röhsska Museum of Design and Craft
- Silk Museum of Soufli
- Museum Schloss Biesdorf
Locations
- Athens
- Greece
- Abram
- Naxos
- Naxos island
- Sweden
- Gothenburg
- Volos
- Paris
- Berlin
- Copenhagen