“It is time to say goodbye to OUR club. A space we all loved so much, the one that helped revolutionize freedom clubbing in Cyprus.”

Borrowing its name from a legendary gay club in Larnaca (Cyprus), Orestis Lazouras’ solo exhibition Secrets Freedom Club pays tribute to long-gone sleepless nights of the local party scene. A nostalgic homage, it echoes an atmosphere filled with glossy furniture and even brighter memories : “Secrets Freedom Club” was a unique place to be. Opening its doors in 2005 and welcoming absolutely everyone, it offered its audience from all over the world an international mix of Greek mainstream music, House and Deep House with a hint of R’n’B’. 

It was disco style with a touch of class. Curtains made out of chain neighbored loveseats and mirror-dressed columns. A constellation of coloured lights danced throughout the surface of the roof. Crowned with lamp-shade hats, mannequins turned into sculptures. A parthenon-shaped structure framed the stage which hosted drag shows, strip shows, singers, entertainers, go-go boys. There was no dress code, so you could go as you pleased. It was just one big ‘anything goes’ party. 

Lazouras’ show resonates as a farewell to a golden era. With a mix of romanticism, glamor and humor, Secrets Freedom Club reflects on both the personal and collective intimacies we may share in/with a space. It summons moon-lit obsessions, stroboscopic hallucinations and the traces left by chosen insomnias.

Secrets Freedom club closed in 2019. It still stands exactly as it was, with all interior decorations, only now it’s empty of people. It was the only true Freedom Club in Cyprus.

#more_than_a_club #more_than_friendly

Orestis Lazouras’ practice is primarily influenced by local romanticism, fictional identities as well as an exploration of modern-day culture as he perceives it. He applies the method of ‘styling’ as a process of arranging materials that hold key elements, giving rhythm and rhyme to his assemblages. Individual works adopt an identity when put together as a group, often serving as an ode to an event, an experience, a place or an individual. Shmorévaz welcomes Secrets Freedom Club as Lazouras’ first solo show in France.