forever

Audiovisual installation

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Forever combines an almost extinct Greek whistling language and a dialogue from a Borges story in order to address the issue of loss through oblivion. 

 

In the hamlet of Antia in Southern Evia, the villagers have inherited a way of communication through whistling, which originated as a way of messaging across mountains. This fascinating language also known as Whistles is a whistling technique that can enunciate any word in any vocabulary in the world. In a broader context, the Antia whistling language is very similar to other whistling communication techniques existing in Turkey, the Pyrenees, Morocco and the Canary islands.

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In his story Ulrikke, Borges describes the ephemeral encounter between his protagonist Javier and a Norwegian woman called Ulrikke. Before their parting they have a short dialogue on the way to the inn where they will make love for the first and last time. During that talk they decide to change their names and call each other Sigurd and Brunhilde. In this way, Borges connects his two heroes’ encounter and inevitable separation with the Norse saga of Sigurd and Brunhilde. According to the saga, Sigurd who is a grandson of Odin and has the gift of understanding birdsong, saves Brunhilde, a mighty female warrior, one of the Valkyries, and a heroine from the German epics.

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Presented at

Renaissance Stories

Curated by Dimitris Paleokrassas.

Athens Festival, Athens.

2015