This video tracks exchanges of objects -that I initiated when I took a pebble out of the beach in Katsiveli- and landscapes in Ios -many of which have been commodified. Their documentation is presented as a triptych (an artwork made of three pieces), in which the scale shifts as the camera focuses on gestures, interactions, objects, landscapes, interior and exterior spaces, and on human activity -at times visible despite the human absence. As the pebble was transferred from hand to hand, it transformed -often enough into another pebble or stone. Permanent and semi-permanent residents of Ios, who were in different degrees emotionally connected to each other, participated and contributed in an unexpected and generous way, by pointing out the next destination, the object’s following recipient.
I spent two intense weeks on the island, as an artist in residence invited by “Save Ios” Association. I discussed, drew and recorded. I departed from my 2014-15 “Correspondences” project -a series of paradoxical exchanges of objects having as recipients the landscapes around them and referring to the relation between public and private- and I read the book “At the Beach” by Jean-Didier Urbain -that among other things describes the stages of mass colonization / appropriation of the seaside. Within this short time period I attempted to grasp the framework of Ios Art Residency, the goals and the activity of the Association, the fragile and mutable balances and dynamics evolving on the island. It would not be possible to do so without taking into consideration the conflicts, negotiations and misinterpretations that often arise during the institutional or situational presence of artists and contemporary art in site-specific art residencies.
On the occasion of these exchanges, and within the given timeframe, I tried to contact and discuss with as many people as possible as a visitor / outsider who initiates this process to have some sort of access to the local social networks, and as a transporter who carries the objects from one person to another. The direction of the video, focusing on the gesture of the exchange -that takes place anyway on a personal level simultaneously with the tourism transactions- does not aim to idealize or to represent. My intention was rather to follow and record, in a playful manner, the objects’ itineraries. Some objects followed paths that have been established a long time ago, and some others followed ephemeral and evanescent paths, recently opened because of this project. Overall, the process of the exchanges, the encounters with the people and the objects’ routes on the island are more essential than their documentation.
I’d like to warmly thank for their trust and participation: Margaret Drot, Christine Vieille, Richard Vieille, Iris Poussaiou, Theodora Tziamali, Molly Reid, Nicola MacRae, Liz Fernandez Karra, Vivi Karra, Eleni Karra, Konstantina Drakou, Anastasia Drakou, Aggeliki Dimopoulou, Aris Valmas, Roula Nika, Karima Hssaine, Giannis Loukianos, Paul Raphael, Dimitris Zakhaios, George Gkikas, Eleni Gkika, Dimitris Valmas, Akis Mouzakis.
As well as: Dimitris Foutris, Orestis Mavroudis, Foteini Palpana, Joanna Cave, Ioanna Tsemani, Giannis Cheimonakis, Christina Maraboutaki, Natasha Sarantopoulou, Cassandra Celestin and “Save Ios” Association.
____
metaphor, transporter | HD video, loop, 08:38, color, stereo sound
Screening: Micro-stories of mutable landscape, Ios, 2022
