Emotive Circle

“It was a meeting of minds, bodies, rhythms, memories, emotions, devices, weather and urban materialities. An emotional palimpsest”

artist notes (2012)

“ascending together on Lycabettus was an act of endurance and trust towards us and the city”

artist notes (2012)

“walking together a spiral was a metaphor of becoming”

artist notes (2012-2013)

Concept

Emotive Circle is a walking-oriented work towards a shared emotional geography of Athens in the times of crisis. Exhibited in ROOMS 2013, an essay film with auto ethnographical implications, derived from the sensory and emotional experience of both walkers. On 22nd of November 2012, Psarras along with a co-walker walked a circle in the centre of Athens; they conducted a 7 hours shared walk of cyclical shape around the Lycabettus mount. The artist intended to walk, sense and express their emotion while walking and talking into a metaphorical interrelation between the social crisis (city) and personal one (self). His intention of walking a circle was to conduct a metaphorical "weaving" of the different areas around Lycabettus mount – areas with various social, spatial and historical ambiances. His concept draws connections to Benjamin's flaneur by bringing it into the 21st century public space of multiple contradictions and layers. The walk was documented through film, sound, notes and GPS data. The work has been exhibited as film (42’), a site-specific installation of film screening, thread, GPS and text as well as a series of experimental maps (Emotive Cartographies) and experimental audiovisual pieces (Weaving Footsteps).

Description

Essay video of a shared walk documented by camera, sound, GPS data,

Technical: Full HD video, 16:9, colour, stereo sound, single channel

Duration: 42’

Year: 2012

Credits

Concept – Creation: Bill Psarras

Co-walker: Spyros Ntzioras

Cinematography-Photography: Nikolas Grigoriou (>)

Additional Filming: Dimitris Dermousis

English subtitling: Nadia Georgiou (>)

Commissioned for

The work was invited for ROOMS2013 of Kappatos Gallery. Emotive Circle film was exhibited as a site-specific mixed media installation (film, maps, thread) curated by Maria Maragkou (Museum of Contemporary Art, Crete).