one hundred times more, 2017
An interactive performance, hot foil gilding, on 100 paper cards, single edition handmade book, dimensions variable.
In 27 December 1899, George Afentakis (coming from Kimolos island in Cyclades) let a testament of 100.000 gold drachmas for the construction and maintenance of an asylum for the poor, abandoned and shipwrecked elders. The Asylum for the Poor, later called Afentakeio, was designed in 1932 by the architect Georgios Dragasikis and the construction was complete in 1950. In 2013, after 63 consecutive years of operation and 114 years after Afentakis’ testament, the board of Afentakeio legacy decided to suspend the operation of the nursing home in Kimolos, because of financial difficulties.
For the interactive installation titled trace over [a space in 100 pieces], the original 1932 Afentakeio nursing home floor plan by Georgios Dragasikis was enlarged and then broken down to 100 pieces. In August 2015, visitors and residents of Kimolos’ village were invited to interact by tracing over the deconstructed parts of the terrace plan, on pieces of wood, using pens, pencils and carbon. A total of 100 people participated, capturing their different kinds of line-traces. Finally, the wooden puzzle was re-assembled by visitors and passers-by on the floor of the Watchman bar, in Kimolos. For more information and documentation on this interactive installation follow this link.
In the summer of 2016, the same, original floor plan turned into a white on white, cotton, handmade, collective embroidery, sizing 70 x 85 cm. It was complete in three days by residents and artists working together around the village’s square and was installed at the “Niko’s balcony” tavern, together with a hand bound book of the one hundred, original tracing papers, presenting all personalized writing styles.
In the summer of 2017, one hundred handmade and numbered prints of the original floor plan by Dragasikis were symbolically offered to all those who participated in the making of the previous works. The 1932 design was imprinted white on white paper using letterpress technique. Simultaneously, one hundred digital prints of the same floor plan, each one printed with a different grey scale opacity percentage, are hand bound into a book, allowing the viewer to witness the nursing home’s slow disappearance, from 100% to 1%.
Both single edition books are specifically hand bound in collaboration with the bookbinder Eva Biza. All works related to the nursing home were exhibited in Kimolos island village during July – August 2017.
Many thanks to the municipality of Kimolos island, Andriani Ventouri and Maria Gouveli for the support, mr Nikos, mrs Ntina and Eva for hosting the final installation at Niko’s balcony tavern, as well as the rest of the project’s participants and supporters during the last 3 years.
Starting points, 1 building, 3 sculptures and 1 documentary,
Art Walk, Terra Firma,
Meeting Point, 36° 47’ 7.4” Β 24° 34’ 50” Δ, all three exhibitions organized and curated by Andriani Ventouri & Maria Gouveli, Kimolos island Greece.
Performance documentation, making of the one hundred letterpress prints and installation view photos by Nayana Gouveli Amaral and Lea Petrou.
