Three casual conversations around said topic took place under various shadows around the city of Athens. Taking into account the character of the places where the conversations occur (e.g a degraded area, or, a mainstream touristic spot), participants look back to their personal experiences and explore, on the one hand, multiple aspects of Greek identity and the way these aspects appear in the everyday life and memory of local people; and on the other hand, how (or, if) these aspects may be defined by difference to a broader western identity.
While shadows are seen as shelters from the sun (a core environmental element that constructs Greek identity) participants approach the topic in a daily manner and furthermore place themselves in relation to various spaces of a possibly exotic Athens. Additionally, a map it is constructed with the places where the conversations took place in order to create a visual connection between the recorded dialogues and the urban geography of the city.
The dialogues occurred at three places: under a shadow next to Aerides, a mainstream touristic site situated at Plaka; under a shadow of a transplanted olive tree at Omonoia square, the official center of Athens; and under the shadow of the buildings at Sapfous street, a street of the degraded area of central Athens.
Tourism and crisis tourism, tradition and the connection of the local population with it, people’s connection with the landmarks of Athens, the positioning of Greek identity between east and west etc. are topics that emerge through the conversations.
Aerides Dialogue from Michaelangelo Vlassis-Ziakas on Vimeo.
Sapfous Dialogue from Michaelangelo Vlassis-Ziakas on Vimeo.
Omonoia Dialogue from Michaelangelo Vlassis-Ziakas on Vimeo.
