June 2011

The work is permanently exhibited in Salon Aida, Thomasstr. 81, Berlin

The project was realised for the Festival 48 Stunden Neukölln, Berlin

Hairdresser Aida Ichkuntana and artist Persefoni Myrtsou are seeking to address questions about the Veil through an artistic cultural dialogue; three photographic images, installed at the window of the hair-salon Aida are showing the black of the head of three women. One can observe the pictures from the outside of the salon.

These ‘Anti-Portraits’ intend to function as an activist act against the negative portrayal of Muslim women. It is intended to deconstruct the stereotypes around the issue ‘Veil’ and its connotations: the veil as symbol of oppression, as a reason for rising islamophobia, as a banal attribute of uneducated, naïve women, as a reason for inequality in the job market.

For more information visit:

http://salonaida.wordpress.com

ένα άρθρο για το περιοδικό “Ελληνικό Σπίτι”, Ιούνιος 2011

Üsküdar

Αποφάσισα, χωρίς κάποιο συγκεκριμένο στόχο, να πάω και να μείνω για ενά μήνα στην Κωνσταντινούπολη. Σκέφτηκα ότι έτσι, ίσως θα μπορούσα να έχω την ευκαιρία να δω αυτή την περίεργη πόλη με το τόσο … (δεν μου έρχεται καμία λέξη) παρελθόν από την σκοπιά ενός ανθρώπου που εκλαμβάνει την πόλη που ζεί ως ένα καθημερινό δεδομένο. Δηλαδή ενός πολίτη, του οποίου η αστική συμπεριφορά και ο τρόπος κίνησης του μέσα σε αυτήν να μην είναι ο ίδιος με αυτόν ενός τουρίστα.

Δεν πήγα στην Αγία Σοφία (σε όλα αυτά είχα πάει πιό παλιά με εκδρομικό, τριήμερο 100 Ευρώ όλα πληρωμένα, ημιδιατροφή, κατακουράστηκα και πέρασα φρικτά), δεν πήγα στο Πατριαρχείο, δεν πήγα στο τζαμί στο Ορτάκιοϊ (είναι αυτό που ο Γιώργος Χωραφάς συναντάει την παλιά του αγάπη στη ταινία «Πολίτικη Κουζίνα») και κυρίως δεν διανοήθηκα να πλησιάσω το Καπαλί Τσαρσί (Kapalı Çarşı).

Βέβαια, θα μου πείτε, πήγες, και τα είδες όλα αυτά. Σωστό. Απλά νομίζω ότι καμιά φορά, ο τουρισμός, έτσι όπως εννοείται σήμερα είναι κάπως σαν το Ελληνικό εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα: να μάθεις όσα πιο πολλά γίνεται, να μπουκώσεις, να αποστηθήσεις, να παπαγαλίσεις και μετά να ξεχάσεις. Πιστεύω ότι κανείς σήμερα, ακόμη και με ψυχική διάθεση τουρίστα, πρέπει να είναι πολύ προσεχτικός και κριτικός στην συλλογή πληροφοριών και γνώσεων. Ζούμε σε μία εποχή ταχύτητας και έλλειψης χρόνου.

Ας μπούμε στον πρόλογο του κυρίως θέματος: Η Κωνσταντινούπολη είναι πλέον της μόδας. Συνδυάζει γοητευτικά ανατολίτικα και δυτικά στοιχεία. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, έλκει χιλιάδες νεό-οριενταλιστές δυτικούς που, κατα την γνώμη μου, συνεισφέρουν στον εκφυλισμό της ήδη προβληματικής πολιτισμικό-εθνικής ταυτότητας των Τούρκων. Αυτοί οι μετα-αποικιοκράτες «τουρίστες» βρίσκουν πρόσφορο έδαφος στην μεγάλη επιθυμία πολλών Τούρκων για δυτικοποίηση. Το αποτέλεσμα είναι οι τελευταίοι (μέσα στον πανικό, μη και τους πούνε «βάρβαρους» και άξεστους ανατολίτες) να αποτάσσονται το οθωμανικό τους παρελθόν, το οποίο χρησιμοποιείται πλέον ιστορικά και μόνο για λόγους που εξυπηρετούν τον τρομακτικά ταχέως αναπτυσσόμενο τουρισμό στην Τουρκία (παρεπιπτόντως: έχουνε γεμίσει τα παράλια της Τουρκία και στα ελληνικά νησιά βαράνε μύγες). Παρ΄όλα αυτά, και με βάσει την, οφείλουμε να ομολογήσουμε, «φιδίσια» πολιτική του Ταγίπ Ερντογάν («1 minute, 1 minute», βλέπε: ομιλία Ταγίπ Ερντογάν στο Νταβός της Ελβετίας στις 29 Ιανουαρίου 2009, κατέκρινε δημόσια και ανοιχτά την πολιτική του Ισραήλ στην λωρίδα της Γάζας), οι Τούρκοι είναι κυρίως πιστοί μουσουλμάνοι: «Αυτοί είμαστε, κύριοι. Φιλοδυτικοί μουσουλμάνοι. Μας θέλετε; Καλώς. Δεν μας θέλετε; Παλι καλώς (έτσι και αλλιώς θέλετε δεν θέλετε, μάλλον στο μέλλον θα μας έχετε άναγκη, 78 εκατομμύρια ψυχές είμαστε.)».

«Μπουνταλάδες» λέμε τους Τούρκους, έμεις οι απόγονοι της ένδοξης κλασσικής εποχής… Κούνια που μας κούναγε.

Κοντέυει να τελειώσει το άρθρο και εγώ δεν σας έγραψα τίποτα για την Πόλη! Θα σας κάνω μιά αντι-τουριστική λίστα, χωρίς πολλές σάλτσες, δηλαδη μέ όλα όσα ΟΠΩΣΔΗΠΟΤΕ πρέπει να μην χάσετε:

[το σημείο αυτό παραλείπτεται, δεν είναι απαραίτητο σε αυτήν την ιστοσελίδα...]

Αυτά λοιπόν. Έκανα μια επιλογή από μία μεγάλη λίστα πραγμάτων που έκανα στην Πόλη το υπερβολικά μικρό διάστημα που έζησα. Θέλω να ξεκαθαρίσω πώς όσα γράφω είναι η προσωπική μου άποψη που διαμορφώθηκε από ένα συνοθύλευμα εμπειριών, γνώσεων, ανάγνωσης, ακρόασης και παρατήρησης.

Kendinize iyi bakın!

Περσεφόνη Μύρτσου

September 2010-October 2010

Click here to view the embedded video.

Password to watch the film: GEDOK

‘Es ist etwas schief, aber ich finde es schön’ (It is a bit crooked, but I like it) is a collaboration project with artists Anne Moirier, Atalya Laufer and Claire Daudin. The project was created within the framework of the 50 years anniversary exhibition of GEDOK Berlin (GEDOK is a transdisciplinary women artists’ association in Germany).

The project is a cooperation between GEDOK Berlin and the artists of the Institute for Art in Context, University of the Arts Berlin (Institut für Kunst im Kontext, Universität der Künste Berlin). The mentor of our project was Katja Jedermann from the Institute of Art in Context.

One of the anniversary exhibitions of GEDOK Berlin took place in Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien. We worked closely with some of the participating artists. The main idea of the project was that children visit the artists in their studios. After getting to know the artist and her work, the children were talking about the artwork, that would be exhibited in the Bethanien. We recorded the thoughts, observations and interpretations of the children on the work and sometimes on the artists as well, eventually edited them together and created an audio-guide for the exhibition.

The artists:

Jenny Brockmann, Carola Czempik, Lisa Mayerhofer, Nham-hee Völker-Song, Anna Simone Wallinger, Sabine Wild, Britta Clausnitzer, Susanne Specht, Erika Matsunami

The children:

Amina, Bahce, Berivan, Clara-Luisa, Elian, Gizem, Joscha, Maram, Myrna, Omar, Sevim, Sipel, Simon, Sobhie, Tango, Yilmaz, Zoe

By visiting the space, where the artist thinks, works (and lives), and everything it includes, gave to the children the opportunity to create a complete (almost ‘behind the scenes’) view of the making of an artwork. Children have a very characteristic vehemence and spontaneity when trying to define; we wanted to work with children because of this reason. Our intention and target was to tell a new story for an artwork, which disconnects it with its reception space (the art gallery), using a language, which liberates itself from formal artistic definitions and categorisations.

The film compiles the documentation of the whole process: photographs of the visits to the studios, the communication between the artists and the children, the artworks in the exhibition space, the children in the exhibiton space etc. What was heard in the audio guide of the exhibition is heard in this film.

December 2009 – February 2010

The exhibition „AndersView“ is the second part of a cooperation between Art Cru Gallery in Berlin, the Atelier ‚ImPerkfekt’ (studio, where disabled artists practise their work), which belongs to the Berliner Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen (Berlin Workshops for people with disabilities) and the Institute for Art in Context of the University of the Art Berlin (Institut für Kunst im Kontext).

The goal of the project is to question the barriers and connections between individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities. The authors of the project Jovana Komnenic and Dejan Markovic invited artists from the Insitute of Art in Context to carry out a joint workshop with the artists working at ‚ImPerfekt’, and eventually to translate their cooperation in a group exhibition at the Art Cru Gallery in Berlin.

The participating artists; Barbara Antal (photographer), Persefoni Myrtsou (sculptor), Orkun Sahin (film-maker), worked for two months closely with the artists from ‚ImPerfekt’. Due to the several artistic and biographical backgrounds and experieces of the artists, many diverse subjects were revised through the cooperation.

In group discussion  and during the working process, themes such as Dreams and Fantasies were developed, which were presented at the a exhibition through a distortion of perspectives in the exhibition space (see photos of the exhibition). [...]

The unusual point of view enabled the visitors of the exhibition to get a sense of the very atmosphere in the ‚ImPerfekt’ studio. The experiences of the the creative group work between the artists of ‚ImPerfekt’ and the artists of the Institute were presented in the exhibition so that they surround the visitor in the space.[...]

The making process of the work was video-documented with a Mini DV Camera by the artists themselves. Thus, one could gain a insight into the working methods oft he participants.

The text was originally written by Dejan Markovic, Jovana Komnenic and Wolfgang Knapp in German and is a free translation from German into English by Persefoni Myrtsou.

inspired by Dimitris Dimitriadis’s text “Dying as a country”

November 2010

Installation in the open air exhibition ANAKATA at the abandoned ‘Pavlos Melas’ military camp, Thessaloniki, Greece

The installation is comprised of a complex electronic mechanism, a plastic super-market bag and a speaker. On the plastic bag, one can read the following words in german:  ”Original Griechisch” (originally Greek). The mechanism sends air to the plastic bag through a pipe, then the bag is blown up and down, up and down. From the speaker one hears a woman talking fast and pause-less in Greek. The text she is pronouncing is the famous “Dying as a country” by greek author Dimitris Dimitriadis, . The text describes the dreadful and tragic downfall of a country, making clear references to the Greek Junta during the 70s.

In the installation while the woman is pronouncing the text, the plastic bag is continuously breathing in and out, in and out, in and out. The work is dedicated to the country of Greece and to many of its citizens.

The woman pronouncing Dimitris Dimitriadis’s text “Dying as a country” is actress Maria Pamouki.

January 2011

Duration: 30 secs

The video work is showing an older man crying in loop. Based on the sexist saying “men do not cry”, the video as a self-contained universal image is trying to deconstruct deeply rooted ideas relating to gender issues, till expression of feelings and aging.

Click here to view the embedded video.

to watch the video on full screen, double click on it

January 2009

Installation of a video work and a photograph

‘The Modern World’ / Discount Store, Glasgow, Scotland

October 2009-March 2010

19 Freiheiten (19 Freedoms) is a cooperation project among the ‘Kulturnetzwerk Neukölln’ (network of culture), the ‘Institut für Kunst im Kontext’ (IfKiK: Institute for Art in Context) of the University of Arts (UdK) Berlin and the ‘Kulturamt Neukölln’ (Office for Culture), the official department for culture of the district authority Neukölln in Berlin.

The core of the project is the cooperation of an artist from IfKiK and a young adult from the district of Neukölln, in order to plan, develop and realise a workshop concept with children from school classes in Neukölln. North Neukölln is a residence place for many migrant families from Turkey and Arabic countries. It is one of the poorest and underprivileged districts in Berlin.

The framework of the project are the 19 first acts of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz), which deal with the essential human rights. For about 6 months, I worked closely with Adel Al Okle on an idea for a two-day workshop based on the third act of the Basic Law, which refers to any kind of human discrimination.

Article 3

(1) All persons shall be equal before the law.

(2) Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.

(3) No person shall be favored or disfavored because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith, or religious or political opinions. No person shall be disfavored because of disability.

(source of translation)

Our idea focused on physical discrimination. The body is often a cause to be discriminated or to discriminate. The physical appearance is sometimes not a choice (disability, colour of the skin, the height, facial characteristics), sometimes it may reflect an output on life, an ideology, a religious belief, a current trend (clothes, jewellery, hairstyle, walking attitude, tattoos).

In the beginning of our workshop we tried different games and exercises. Initially we wanted the participants of the workshop to relax their own bodies and to feel comfortable with the physicality of the others. Later, we focused on more intellective practices based mainly on discussion, in order to share their opinions and experiences of how they perceive their own bodies and the notion of physical discrimination.

Through these exercises we wanted to efficiently introduce the participants into the artistic-visual part of the work; the main techniques used were photography and collage.

We asked the participants to separate in small groups of four and after drawing a basic body structure of a human body on a big human size paper, to use their own mobile phone cameras (of course they all had such mobile phones!) and take multiple pictures of different parts of the bodies of each other. We encouraged them to take pictures even of small details of their bodies; a picture of an eye, an ear, a finger.

On the second day after starting with a couple of warming up games, we gave the black and white pictures, which we printed the night before, to the participants. We chose black and white because after doing tests with colour photos, we concluded that colour makes it hard to assemble a body, and defeats the point of making one creature. Cutting, assembling and sticking the pictures together, each group created a life size new humanoid, which consisted of parts of the bodies of the group. Eventually, the groups created a fictional identity for this individual, which was presented to the rest of the class.

More information about the project under: www.19freiheiten.de

Visual Fairy Tale, Berlin 2007