paradesa, 2023
In situ, online, interactive, sound installation with ceramic elements, dimensions variable.

The stream is the most important hydrographic feature of the geographic area from Penteli mountain to Chalandri and critically contributes to the flora and fauna of the region. It is the continuation of the well-known road of Lithagogia, which transported marble stones from the quarry at the Mount Penteli, to the ancient city of Athens. It is probable that there existed a sanctuary of the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture Demeter, as well as a burial place of the Mycenaean period in the area. Τhe waters of the ravine fed the Hadrian Aqueduct in Roman times, while the stream is already depicted on the 1883 Attica maps by the Bavarians Ernst Curtius and Johann August Kaupert.

Seventeen (17) visual artists walked through the Chalandri ravine landscape, with the initial aim to explore and record elements of the landscape, and whereupon to create an artistic map of the ravine. The process of walking became the central tool of this field research. Everyone experienced the richness of the sounds, smells, flora and fauna landscape and rendered their experience cartographically. These artistic impressions are collected in a printed, guide-map format catalogue and become the beginning of a series of visual renderings of the Chalandri stream. Βased on their experiential wandering and cartographic experiences, the visual artists created art works, which will be exhibited for two (2) weeks in the surrounding area of ​​the Euripides Municipal Theater of Rematia, Chalandri.

I researched and collected calls, chirps and sounds of nightingales based on the ideal wetland living conditions. I maped the Chalandri stream through an in situ, online, interactive, sound installation, aiming to restore the unique sound of nightingales back to the stream. Moving along the ravine using mobile phones and GPS trackers, Rema Incognita visitors activated both the online sounds and their sense of auditory perception. Ceramic, cartographic elements based on old maps of the area, placed in selected parts of the outdoor theater space, accompany the sounds of nightingales.

This piece has no commercial use. All sounds are collected by www.xeno-canto.org, all rights belong to the website as well as the recordists mentioned in detailed following every bird’s scientific name. Many thanks to the Hellenic Ornithological Society for the important information provided during the research process.

Rema Incognita exhibition is realized under the auspices of the Athens School of Fine Arts as part of the Rematia Festival 2023, with the support of the Municipality of Chalandri.

Organized and curated by: Lea Petrou

Participating artists: Evangelia Basdekis, Mary Cox, Christiana Garofalidou, Maria Gouveli, Katerina Katsifaraki, Sofia Kyriakou, Dimitra Maltabe, Caroline May, Dionisis Pappas, Lea Petrou, Giorgos Tserionis, Dimitris Tsoublekas, Panagiotis Voulgaris.

Participating Athens School of Fine Arts students: Eva Andronikidou, Efi Laskari, Aliki Papadimitriou, Magdalini Tsemperi.

Exhibition logo, poster and map design by: SCS KnowHow

The printed catalogue includes texts by: Dimitra Chatzisavva, Ioanna Papapavlou and Foteini Venieri.