Abject
Refugees, homeless
people and concrete skeletons, victims of the crises as abjects; linked to
taboos, no-zones
Crisis
Whose crisis is it?
What does it mean to be in the state of crisis? Crisis
of capitalism, crisis of democracy, personal crisis?
Daily
encounters
Cats, cigarettes,
construction sites, concrete skeletons, emptiness (possibility or failure,
whose?), things in progress or under construction, people gathered around the fireplace
in the dark, pieces of clothing in garbage bins, homelessness
To
exoticize
When walking around the
immigrant neighbourhood we – four English speaking girls - were the exotic ones,
the ones not belonging here, those who are better to be kept at arm´s
length. People we encountered while
walking the small alley kept a distance, took some side steps, avoided us. They
expressed fear, not anger or curiosity. We were prepared to be the ones accused
of exoticism. What and who is exotic and to whom? “Why are you here?”“What do you do here? Crisis tourism, the
fear of exotisicism, object/subject
Graffiti
I found myself
hesitating to call them graffiti. Texts or writings felt better. Why? In Athens, it was about something else. To
take over the public space? To shout in public? A claim for social change? If,
who has a moral right to do so and where? Vandalism or political activism?
Hope
One thing repeated in
the street writings was hope. Hope for what? Better future? What does it
include? Could I collect dreams and only dreams? To forget the dystopian
features? Collective dreaming? What are you dreaming of?
Justice
Shift from law to
justice; value, principle, cultural, social?
Politics+art
Is there art without
politics? Is art always mingling with politics?
Structural elements or
dimensions
vertical/horizontal, top down/bottom-up, private/public structures, “heart
structure”, the core of the city, insider/outsider, introvert/extrovert, people
as structures, social borders
Truth
What is my truth, your
truth? Our guests, politicians, media – all have their own truth. Whose truth is the prevailing truth? In the
end, what is the difference between opinion and truth? What are the counter narratives?
