Waves
Installation Izmir Mediterranean Biennial
Izmir | 2024
The sea is a source of inspiration for me. Water unites the world. From the beginning of humanity to today, the need for movement, with different motivations, is constant. People's journey begins in the waters of the Mediterranean before they even construct imaginary communities and borders on it. In the last decade we witness these movements every day. The inspiration for the creation of the project "Waves" is the personal story of a child from Greece who has received domestic abuse. Trying to create a new world protected from reality he invented an imaginary wall of protection by covering his ears with headphones, looking to find within the FM frequencies the dream that will allow him to create a new place safe to live.
Traveling in the Aegean and listening to music, I noticed that the radio frequencies create a mixture of sound consisting of melodies, news, advertisements and noise.
Through the creation of the project “Waves” I try to awaken the viewers and put them in the position of every child who the policies of the states and the systemic games lead him to be in the position of a refugee, in a boat in the waters of the Mediterranean looking to find a new place to touch his dreams. How many people have been lost in these waters trying to find a better life?
Entering the installation space, the viewer is faced with a large-scale perforated work, consisting of handmade papers cut by hand with a surgical scalpel. Having been isolated from external noises by wearing MP3 player headphones since the 90s, he can wander the soundscape, which has been created from the sound materials detected in the FM and a new single Mediterranean melody has been created.
Photo | Ilyas Hayta
Text | Stratis Tavlaridis
