Zoe Hatziyannaki
26 Jun - 11 Jul 2008
ZOE HATZIYANNAKI
"santoREni: work in progress"
26.06 – 11.07.2008
Opening: Thursday, 26th June 2008, at 19:30
Tuesday - Friday 11:00 – 20:00, Saturday 12:00 – 16:00
The photographs and video work presented at the exhibition address the issue of how space tends to develop these days on the island of Santorini. The video is part of the artist’s doctoral thesis, while the photographs are a product of her research. Santorini holds particular appeal in this respect because of a series of dramatic changes that it seems to have undergone in recent years mainly due to the development of tourism. Yet, tourism does not only translate into significant economic development or a transition from agriculture to other activities, but also into a set of structural changes in terms of space and, perhaps, society at large. The notion of space is a complex construct that implies far more than the mere architectural or town-planning aspects of our surroundings; rather, it involves a perception of space as an entity that affects and is in turn affected by social, political and economic factors. Space is not an object: it is a vessel for objects and is determined by the relationships formed between them. As Lefebvre would say, space is a thing produced. What are, then, the principal dynamics that serve today to produce space in Santorini? We might classify such dynamics into two categories: the global and the local. Global dynamics are responsible for radical change on all levels of experience: lifestyles and culture, the economy, social relations and the environment. They are even responsible for changes in the perception and management of time (the seasons in Santorini, for example, have now been relegated into two categories of time, the ‘peak’ and ‘low’ season of tourism, since conditions on the island in winter are completely different to those of summer). Additionally, their most salient feature is a reality of heightened mobility: people, goods, etc, are in a constant state of motion, through which space is ultimately determined. Still, though the impact of such global dynamics seems to be more potent, the role of local dynamics is in fact equally decisive. Local dynamics include first and foremost the island’s landscape, whether natural or built, whose inherent peculiarity is itself the main lure of the island’s tourism industry, and, secondly, on a social level this time, a reality of consciously ignoring or even breaking the law, one of arbitrary action in all areas of life, but more importantly in terms of economic activity.
Therefore, this coexistence and interaction of global and local dynamics is what creates the island’s contemporary landscape, which is characterized by a variety of new, hybrid forms as well as by a persistent sense of mobility. Such changes, however, will leave a visible trace on the island’s map at the same time as they alter that of the world’s through networks that already exist or are now in the making. Santorini’s place on the map of international anthropogeography changes as the island is challenged into taking on new roles. At present, however, we seem to have not yet come up with the terms that would allow us to describe this nascent landscape, since its many forms are still somewhat vague. For instance, new architectural and physical planning interventions seem to be diverting from the norm of the past as they must now accommodate new needs and new demands raised not only by the local population, but also by immigrants living on the island and, of course, by the tourists themselves. What are the terms by which we might describe this junction and fusion of different dynamics? (Is Santorini a dispersed/multicultural city? Is it a global village? Is it a metropolitan centre of tourism?)
Though using different means, the photographs and video in this exhibition both attempt to depict and explore this emerging setting, to understand it and offer an interpretation of it that departs from the enduring, post-card-like image of Santorini, not because such an image does not exist, but because it can only be part of today’s social reality. Ingersoll notes that, ‘although the rest of society evolves and changes, the post-card city is embalmed and forced to exist in its ideal form. Cut off from any sort of participation in the real world, it becomes nothing more than a representation of itself’ (Sprawltown, 2006). To describe and investigate these new spaces is to help fathom and manage the dynamics that shape them, without allowing ourselves to become trapped inside a virtual reality that only hushes and perpetuates those vital issues that need to be directly and effectively addressed.
"santoREni: work in progress"
26.06 – 11.07.2008
Opening: Thursday, 26th June 2008, at 19:30
Tuesday - Friday 11:00 – 20:00, Saturday 12:00 – 16:00
The photographs and video work presented at the exhibition address the issue of how space tends to develop these days on the island of Santorini. The video is part of the artist’s doctoral thesis, while the photographs are a product of her research. Santorini holds particular appeal in this respect because of a series of dramatic changes that it seems to have undergone in recent years mainly due to the development of tourism. Yet, tourism does not only translate into significant economic development or a transition from agriculture to other activities, but also into a set of structural changes in terms of space and, perhaps, society at large. The notion of space is a complex construct that implies far more than the mere architectural or town-planning aspects of our surroundings; rather, it involves a perception of space as an entity that affects and is in turn affected by social, political and economic factors. Space is not an object: it is a vessel for objects and is determined by the relationships formed between them. As Lefebvre would say, space is a thing produced. What are, then, the principal dynamics that serve today to produce space in Santorini? We might classify such dynamics into two categories: the global and the local. Global dynamics are responsible for radical change on all levels of experience: lifestyles and culture, the economy, social relations and the environment. They are even responsible for changes in the perception and management of time (the seasons in Santorini, for example, have now been relegated into two categories of time, the ‘peak’ and ‘low’ season of tourism, since conditions on the island in winter are completely different to those of summer). Additionally, their most salient feature is a reality of heightened mobility: people, goods, etc, are in a constant state of motion, through which space is ultimately determined. Still, though the impact of such global dynamics seems to be more potent, the role of local dynamics is in fact equally decisive. Local dynamics include first and foremost the island’s landscape, whether natural or built, whose inherent peculiarity is itself the main lure of the island’s tourism industry, and, secondly, on a social level this time, a reality of consciously ignoring or even breaking the law, one of arbitrary action in all areas of life, but more importantly in terms of economic activity.
Therefore, this coexistence and interaction of global and local dynamics is what creates the island’s contemporary landscape, which is characterized by a variety of new, hybrid forms as well as by a persistent sense of mobility. Such changes, however, will leave a visible trace on the island’s map at the same time as they alter that of the world’s through networks that already exist or are now in the making. Santorini’s place on the map of international anthropogeography changes as the island is challenged into taking on new roles. At present, however, we seem to have not yet come up with the terms that would allow us to describe this nascent landscape, since its many forms are still somewhat vague. For instance, new architectural and physical planning interventions seem to be diverting from the norm of the past as they must now accommodate new needs and new demands raised not only by the local population, but also by immigrants living on the island and, of course, by the tourists themselves. What are the terms by which we might describe this junction and fusion of different dynamics? (Is Santorini a dispersed/multicultural city? Is it a global village? Is it a metropolitan centre of tourism?)
Though using different means, the photographs and video in this exhibition both attempt to depict and explore this emerging setting, to understand it and offer an interpretation of it that departs from the enduring, post-card-like image of Santorini, not because such an image does not exist, but because it can only be part of today’s social reality. Ingersoll notes that, ‘although the rest of society evolves and changes, the post-card city is embalmed and forced to exist in its ideal form. Cut off from any sort of participation in the real world, it becomes nothing more than a representation of itself’ (Sprawltown, 2006). To describe and investigate these new spaces is to help fathom and manage the dynamics that shape them, without allowing ourselves to become trapped inside a virtual reality that only hushes and perpetuates those vital issues that need to be directly and effectively addressed.