• December 14, 2010
  • Posted by Marc

Study For A Riot

From Alexandros Vasmoulakis and Manolis Anastasakos:

“During 2010, Greece came under the supervision of IMF and EU. The fear of poverty and financial recession has built up a feeling of social unrest. Memories of the Greek riots of 2008, according to the media, have created the expectation in Greece and abroad, of a new, more violent riot. Influenced by this atmosphere, we created in a deserted ceramics factory in Athens a series of actions during May 2010. At the time we wanted to give form to feelings intuitively provoked by the signs of unrest we received from all around us. We used the objects that were plentifully scattered in the ruins of the factory: red powder, ceramics, wood and ropes. We installed sculptural structures and we recorded, on video, short collision-scenes. Red powder represented the outcome of every human violent act. The deserted industrial setting was used as a metaphor for the financially devastated country. The multiple-screens structure of the video is a reminder of the surveillance cameras used by the police. The sound was recorded live during each of the actions. We doubt the efficiency of violent rioting and search for a new way. Essentially we have found nothing yet, however, we enjoy searching”.