A memory of, memory of, memory of (2022)

Sound installation

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In certain mountainous areas across the Mediterranean, villagers have inherited from their ancestors an ancient language that uses whistling as a means of communication. Originated as a way of messaging across mountains, this whistling technique can enunciate any word in any vocabulary in the world.  

 

A memory of, memory of, memory of  is a sound work in which a poem on Echo and Narcissus is being whistled. This poem is an assemblage of existing texts written by poets such as Ovid and W. B. Yeats. The whistled poem was originally recorded in the archeological site of Dion, at the foot of Mount Olympus - the home of the Greek Gods. 

 

In 2022 the work is presented in a corridor of an old tobacco factory. This corridor is transformed into a water stream and is filled with the sound of birds chirping. This sonic stream meandering through a bleak office corridor refers to the stream where Echo and Narcissus meet. Via their smart phones the audience can access a real time translation of the dialogue in the whistling tongue, connecting one of the most ancient ways of communicating with the most contemporary one. Additionally, cutting edge sound speakers are interspersed throughout the space and behind closed doors to construct a very realistic natural audio environment without any apparent source. 

 

In KunstFestSpiele 2023 festival, the meeting place of Echo and Narcissus is recreated outdoors in the Herrenhausen gardens. Walking through the gardens, the visitor experiences a sound environment in which the chirping of birds in Mount Olympus holds the whistled poem.  The visitors can access a real time translation of the dialogue in the whistling tongue via their smart phones.

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Whistlers: Panayiotis Tzanavaris, Giannis Apostolou, Kostas Giannakris, Panagiotis Bournousouzis.

Sound design: Spyros Tsitsis

Software development: Gijs de Heij

Editing: Despoina Kontargyri

Production: Stelios Apostolopoulos - AORI Films

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Presented at 

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KunstFestSpiele

Curator Rainer Hofmann, Hannover.

2023

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Dream on

Curated by Dimitris Palaiokrasas.

Old public tobacco factory, Athens.

Hellenic Parlament, NEON Organisation.

2022

 

A previous version entitled "memory of, memory of, memory of" was presented at 

Gods and Mortals at Olympus

Curated by Amalia Cosmetatou.

Onassis Cultural Centre, New York. 

2016

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