GPS DRAMA PATISSION
A performative audiowalk in Patission Avenue
“Gps drama Patission” is an interdisciplinary collective research project through Patission Avenue, one of Athens' longest and oldest arterial roads. The research explores location-based technologies in order to develop a performative audiowalk, giving light to the narratives that constitute a public space : personal stories of habitants and users, narratives of historical, social and political negotiations, visible and invisible systems, architectural and imaginary structures. The project is a result of a collective research work among four artists. It combines different analytical tools, such as fieldwork, interviews, architectural drawings, participatory observation, it engages with different disciplinary and theoretical fields and reflects the discursive histories of concepts such as: public sphere and dramaturgy.
Starting from the belief that every facet of the public undergoes a subtle dramaturgy, we (Eleni Arapostathi, Dimitris Bambilis, Xenia Koghilaki, Elisavet Xanthopoulou) perceive public space, not only as a physical and spatial category, but more importantly, as a dialectical social network and sphere. In the midst of a period in which Athens’ public space is transformed by economic and political mechanisms, ‘Gps drama Patission’ understands the performative perspective as a useful tool to penetrate into everyday life by addressing current social and political issues. The concept of the public sphere as described by J.Habermas, freed us from the materiality of the city and helped us to determine the criticality of a social space, in which different discourses intersect, creating an open field of interaction, encounter and negotiation. Exploring the intangible sites that new technologies offer, we look for a broader dialogic context concerning public space, bodies and technology.
CREDITS
Rerformers Collective
http://cargocollective.com/reformers
Eleni Arapostathi
Dimitris Bambilis
Xenia Koghilaki
Elisavet Xanthopoulou
RESEARCH PERIOD
September 2013 - June 2014, Athens