THE Stratis Tavlaridis recently represented Greece at the Mediterranean Biennale of Izmir, in the exhibition entitled “Looking at the Same Water” that took place in Kültürpark Atlas Pavilion. His work, “Waves”, three and a half meters high and seven wide, like all his work, is delicate and very sensitive, due to the way it is made: he works with handmade papers of a few grams which are cut by hand with a surgical scalpel. Stratis’ work was destroyed by a stray cat found in the Kültürpark Atlas Pavilion, although the site was guarded by security. In fact, someone took a video of the moment of the disaster, without anyone being found to stop the cat. Stratis told us about the painful experience:
— Tell me about the project with which you participated in the Izmir Mediterranean Biennial. And for the organization.
After the commission given to me by the Metropolitan Municipality of Izmir and the K2 Contemporary Art Center, I had the honor to represent our country at the Izmir Mediterranean Biennial, in the exhibition entitled “Looking at the Same Water”, held at the Kültürpark Atlas Pavilion of Smyrna.
Art is ephemeral, everything wears out. But it has the potential to transform itself over time. What I keep from this whole experience is the sense of violence.
The inspiration for the creation of the project “Waves” is the personal story of a child from our country who has suffered domestic abuse. Trying to create a new world, protected from reality, he invented an imaginary wall of protection, covering his ears with headphones, searching in the FM frequencies for the dream that would allow him to create a new place, safe, to live.
Traveling to the Aegean islands and listening to music, I noticed that the radio frequencies create a mixture of sound consisting of melodies, news, commercials 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 the refugee, in a boat in the waters of the Mediterranean, searching to find a new place to touch his dreams.
Entering the space, the spectators were faced with the large-scale perforated work, consisting of handmade papers, cut by hand with a surgical scalpel. The project was accompanied by a sound installation so that the viewer is isolated from the external noises and wearing the headphones of the MP3 players can wander in the soundscape, which is created from the sound materials detected in the FM and create a new single melody of the Mediterranean.
The inspiration for the creation of the project “Waves” is the personal story of a child from our country who has suffered domestic abuse.
— How long did it take you to make it? Tell me about the technique and its difficulties.
All my works consist of handmade papers of a few grams, which are cut by hand with a surgical scalpel. The paper cut technique requires long hours of manual work, discipline and concentration to produce a work of art. Especially when we are talking about a work of this scale, like “Waves”, which is three and a half meters high and seven meters wide. I started working on the project in October 2023 and it took about four months of intensive work to be able to realize it and present it for the first time at the Izmir Mediterranean Biennial.
— How did the cat get into the room? How did it feel to see him destroy the project? Was there no one to protect it?
The place was guarded by security, but the stray cats roamed freely inside the place. I had pointed out to the authorities from the beginning of the event, when I was there, that this is terribly dangerous for all Biennale works. You see your hard work transformed into a work of art and suddenly it becomes a burden of negligence. There are no words to describe how I felt. Can you imagine, even for a moment, how a man feels when his country is at war and loses everything in an instant, not only material goods but also his people?
Violence is what always shocks you.
— Who is taking the video? Why didn’t anyone stop her?
The video was taken by a viewer who visited the exhibition, posted it on TikTok, and that’s where I found out when it was sent to me. I don’t know why no one was found to stop the cat game.
“A work that was motivated by a trauma becomes the same trauma,” he writes in the post he uploaded to Instagram at the time of the disaster. “Through human negligence it continues to evolve in a way that is painfully clear and perfectly coordinated with the absurdity of the world around us. A wounded work of art says a lot, but it hurts more.”
Art is ephemeral, everything wears out. But it has the potential to transform itself over time. What I keep from this whole experience is the sense of violence.
The reason to create the artwork “Waves” was the story of a child who has been abused by his family environment and grew up with his injuries, without society helping him. In my case we are talking about the negligence of people to prevent this incident of violence.
If we parallel these stories, the feeling that remains is the trauma of violence and how it registers on us. A body-sign, a sign that will remind you…
The paper cut technique requires long hours of manual work, discipline and concentration to produce a work of art.
— Have you ever had another work of yours destroyed?
On this scale and with this intensity it has never happened to me before.
— What happens from here on with the project? Is it insured? Will you get any compensation?
The project has returned to Greece and I will begin the process of restoring it, with the organization covering (partially) the cost of its repair.
In terms of restoring it, I will work in such a way that the “trauma” that the play suffered will continue to be seen to remind me and the viewers of the hurt we all carry, opening a new perspective along the way and Progress of the project.
https://www.stratistavlaridis.com/
