I think of that place you once described, 2023

Single channel HD video, colour, sound, 10’

Music: K.BHTA

Through a variety of media and research-based practice, Maria Tsagkari's work examines historical memory and the materiality of objects and ideas. Her new video I think of that place you once described (2023) is based on the study of the recent migration history of Elefsina and the consequent emotional imprint left on different generations by social, political, and economic transformations and changing labour conditions and opportunities. For the creation of the project, Tsagkari visited the 1st EPAL (Vocational High School of Elefsina) and recorded students’ personal stories that reveal aspects of their families' migration to the city. Alongside the collection of these oral histories, she invited the students to select an object related to their story. In the video, the children's selected objects ‘parade’ through the screen in a peculiar rhythmic tone, like a series of emotional artefacts and documents in motion that sheds light on their manifold micro-histories. At the same time, the viewer has the opportunity to listen to a synthesis of excerpts from the participants’ personal testimonies, woven together with a narrative written by the artist. The work explores the way desire manifests itself through objects and brings to the fore the mechanisms of the embodiment of memory, traumas, and expectations, called forth by the experiences of migration and the parallel histories that emerge because of them. Furthermore, the video raises broader issues around integration, social stratification, identity, desires, human relationships and production in the ever-evolving landscape of Elefsina. The music for the piece is composed by well-known electronic music composer Konstantinos Vita (K.BHTA).

Dora Vasilakou

Elefsina Mon Amour: In Search of the Third Paradise, curated by Katerina Gregos, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, Old Olive Mill, Greece.
Installation photos by Anna Primou.