At the turn of the century, some writings, images, and music speak heretically. For what they see, for what they assume. And from young, narrow streets, they gradually approach our depths, our most personal, little by little.
They seek to uncover the invisible domination; and in indirect, symbolic, or elliptical ways, they try to challenge the legitimate. Not so much because they are afraid of disturbing with explicit statements - that has long been overcome - but because they thought that by doing so, they could make us more curious. Even if at the beginning of their new discourse, few of us would understand what they wanted to say.
Their "exotic" world is a common idiom. They start from Hellenistic variations and "archaic" remnants. And they address their condemnation to whatever hypocritical and dubious seems to imprison our freedom.
And hopes? They only hint at them. Perhaps some others, now more numerous, more genuine, will decide to appear.

A.-I. D. Metaxas

Two elliptical speeches about the work of Paul Gauguin and Constantine Cavafy, based in part on the author's introductory announcement at the 5th Panhellenic Conference of the "Hellenic Semiotic Society" in Thessaloniki, in October 1997.