With this video, I try to focus on the trajectories of a man’s life, inscribed as they are in his every step, even in the walls that surround him. His memories are inked on his body, while his various stances suggest heavily charged emotions. 

Despite being on familiar surroundings, the man stands in total isolation. And yet, a dialog begins; a dialog between the body and the matter that takes the form of the collapsed former home. What is in common between them is the history, their memories and their experiences. 

With this video, I try to approach the sense of dependability of life in a city like Athens, through the lives of buildings and people, of matter and existence. The experiences are interconnected; all the beauty and authenticity lies in their very core. The ruin in Metaxourgio, the graffiti in Exarchia, and the resident-person are all part of the same reality. 

Player A is drawing a horizontal line in a piece of paper; s/he names this line “Time”.

Player B is drawing vertical lines that cut through the horizontal line (“Time”) and separate it into smaller bits. The piece of paper is positioned in the center of the table. The hourglass is turned over. The cities’ history is the people who reside in it. The residents’ history is the horizontal line of time that connects two people. It takes time to inhabit two cities, two houses, two bodies. Time, though, can also tear apart… 

Performer: Achilleas Chariskos

Home was presented in the collective exhibition “Athens under the Microscope” in Fokianou Art Space (Athens, 2019).