VOL. lxxxviii

the willingness to revisit
in collaboration with Ino Varvariti


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22.2. — 24.03.2018 
Der Standpunkt war nur ein Aussichtspunkt
Duo Solo Exh. with Daria Gusberti










Ausstellungsansicht Stadtgalerie, Bern; Foto David Aebi



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Former Hospital of Amfissa, Amfissa,(curator Elpida Karampa/ Glykeria Stathopoulou





The willingness to revisit is a research-art project in progress. It consists of an idiosyncratic record of souvenirs from Greece found in various flea markets in Berlin. Ceramic museum copies of vessels, statue replicas, postal cards and photograph albums of trips are all finds of an open performative experience of collecting. The flea market as a space of negotiation and exchange, an unpredictable meeting point of objects and people, becomes the temporary melting pot of various stories; Narratives that can metonymically bring to life personal journeys, places, memories but also cultural and institutional contexts. The distinctive postal card stands and the staged-looking stalls selling ancient statue reproductions one finds in archaeological sites and holiday destinations, form an integral part of tourist attraction practices. Nowdays there are laws that set the terms and conditions that govern the expoitation of cultural heritage, including the allocation of permits to photograph and film and to use archaeological sites for various events. At the same time the project explores these souvenirs as objects that illustrate a personal understanding of history and locality as evidence of the shifting of ideas and experiences. To what extent have these objects influenced and shaped a stereotypical view of the Other? To what extent do they exoticise and romanticise antiquities and representations of places? And on the other hand, how significant a part have they played in the promotion and development of tourism and construction of “Greekness”?