From March 2020 to 2022, research by Forensic Architecture documented 1,018 cases of refugee pushbacks by Greek authorities, revealing a pattern of escalating violence. During this period, these illegal practices resulted in 11 deaths, 4 individuals reported missing, and 26 instances where refugees were thrown into the sea by the coast guard. While these years represent the focus of the research, such practices are part of a broader, ongoing strategy employed by Greek authorities against refugees.

On June 4, 2023, one of the largest shipwrecks in the Mediterranean occurred 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos, in international waters under Greece’s search-and-rescue jurisdiction. Over 600 people tragically drowned. Survivors of the Pylos shipwreck claim that the Greek coast guard attempted a failed towing operation aimed at redirecting the vessel toward Italian waters, causing the ship to tilt abruptly and sink.

The installation creates audio soundscape that capture the intense effects of destruction, imitating, on a smaller level, the sounds of bombs. This auditory aspect aims to involve the audience on a sensory level, prompting them to contemplate the sorrowful outcomes of war.

In the pursuit of this endeavor, the artist embarked on a journey to Lesvos, an island situated at the crossroads of the refugees’ movement towards Europe. While searching for imprints of the pushbacks on land, the artist reached Eftalou beach, which is positioned on the island’s northern fringes. In Eftalou, in front of the wreck of a refugee ship, he captured the traces of the rocks on two pieces of clay.

In this work, water transforms from a natural, life-sustaining resource to something mechanical, and back to its original, fluid state. This journey reflects the artist’s perception of human interference with water that often results in polluting it, disrupting its purity, and ultimately, altering its essence.

duration: 11:36

The work renders an experiential observation of the events that unfolded in quarantine in 2020–2021. A map of movement traces has been created with a view to juxtaposing recent experiences with the limitations imposed on freedom of movement.

Springing from real-life experiences of the city, as shaped and transformed on a daily basis by current events, the project seeks to map our discontinuous journeys and forbidden outings, our unnecessary movements and the distances we’ve kept from one another. The work can be seen as a stand-alone story or as a system documenting moments of everyday life.

Text: Iliana Dimadi

MATTER sublimely unites the distinct visions of its three creators. Skourlis’ hypnotic, almost overwhelming soundtrack based on theories of quantum physics pulses out in waves, subtly blending acoustic strings with synthesisers and electronics as it anchors the movements of the two dancers. Doganis’ designs subvert convention, setting a backdrop of chain-link video projections while creating new perspectives for the perception of space. And Andoniadou’s intricate, mesmerising choreography, dealing with notions of space and time creates a rhythm that complements the aesthetic whole. An immersive distillation of the minimalist aesthetic that keeps her work at the cutting edge.