A-STHENIA

The 1980s saw Greece begin its gradual transformation from its traditional ways that held Middle Eastern roots, and adopting the traditions of Western Europe. The greatest followers of this transformation were those who fell into the middle and lower class distinctions with the prospects of breaking away from all the misery, regression and ‘common’ ideology. It was during this era that I entered the world. Born into a middle class family with ‘common’, low-paid parents from the countryside, who in turn held the traditional way of life, based on Christian ethics and bourgeois mannerisms of the 1950s. During adolescence, I started feeling the pressure of being a good Christian and not performing any sins was prohibiting me from expressing myself in the way I desired. Socializing with children my age who shared my ‘religious ideas’, I found my way intellectually, physically and sentimentally, away from the religious masochism and myth of sin. I began impersonating rebellious models of my time and age. I pierced my ears, got tattoos and searched for exits via music, drugs and friends. This new world attracted me but in the end ruined me. Living amongst people that judged me solely by my outer core, the way I spoke and had fun all became of huge importance and the criteria by which I was judged by. My life became a materialistic chaos which brought about the insanity – panic attacks and depressions. From the fear of sin I had managed to create a phobia of inexistence and invisibility. I began sessions with psychologists and took medication, all the while studying at university where I began learning different studies on humans and society and finally found a sense of worth. The American University was my resurrection. I discovered that art was the way of expression as it uses the body, mind and soul. The studies I did enabled me to understand that the arts were mere my medicine. I became engrossed in the magic of seeing myself take form in objects, humans and reproductions; which have provided me with the ability to see and speak clearly without boundaries, giving and receiving energy and becoming one with the rest. Through my project I have reconciled and become closer with my family which I had completely cut out in my ‘rebellious days’. I was extremely moved when I realized that my family has recognized my work and ability and most importantly, trust me to become subjects in my videos. It has been a dream come true. My exhibition the theme is the body and its relationship with people. Influenced by the theories of Nietzhe, Foucault, Bourdieu, Douglas, Merlau Ponty, feminism and the queer theory, I attempt to show that the body is a method of recording messages and reenactments which have been made by society, civilization and ideologies. The body is a blank document of which every person and society writes its own meaning.

The body is endlessly torn and inexorably in pain, the psyche is burdened and unaided and any intended notion of salvation fails relentlessly. Through my own experiences and upbringing, I humbly tried to exalt this underlying asthenia, the lack of strength and the disintegration that has always been present in every aspect of our western world society.