Written by Alexis Fidetzis

3 channel video installation, 2 horses

This particular project uses three instances of the history of Aegean island of Paros in an attempt to point out alternative narratives relating to the Parian marble and the importance it carried as a material for the inhabitants of the island in three separate historical periods as recorded by three European travelers between the 15th and the 18th century.

The story of a marble torso being used as a step to climb on horses or the use of sarcophagi as buckets to water cattle shows us that the necessities of life seemed more relevant to the local population than the sacred status that was attributed to ancient greek art by the Western European need to develop its own genealogy of tradition.

The stories were presented in three seperate videos inside the Parian village of Marpissa and were connected by the rout of two horse riders that dominated the space as they intruded the small village.

By presenting versions of the island’s everyday life before the native population began treating the island’s archeology as a source of pride, the project attempts to challenge the monolithic national narrative of the country while highlighting issues of targeted modulation of the local collective identity fueled by outside expectations.

Curated by Despina Zefkili