In the fifteenth century, the Ottomans occupied Byzantium, extinguishing the last breath of ancient Greek culture. At the same time, European empires, with the same ruthless, barbaric criminal testosterone, were destroying America's ancient civilizations. Their purpose was to exploit the Earth and reign through dark and sick domination. In the year 1821, Greece, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, attained their independence. It was the era of romance where the revolution was a celebration, the war was love, blood was art. Human memory was filled with heroes, imagination with allegories of great ideas, and the Earth spoke the language of humanity directly to people's hearts. The fifth Mykonos Biennale honors Earth with its theme "1821", the year of revolution. Our planet, a living organism with her own wise will, coordinated her power and drove liberation through her bowels into the hearts of the people and shook the chains of tyranny. Lydia Venieri New York, May 2020