As it is a constant interaction between the conscious and the unconscious with the repression and the transformation of desires, similar is an interaction between space and people in the area of Eleonas. This interdependence leads people to cover their needs by taking advantage of the already existing space and buildings of the area. At the other hand, it leads to the formation and configuration of space and buildings. The shape and form of the buildings and spaces resemble the idiosyncratic language of the early sketches of an architect, which only he could understand. The same applies for the “linguistic code” of the buildings and spaces of the area: Only the people who use and shape them according to their own needs, can understand it. The whole area of Eleonas is a “recycling” of materials, spaces and buildings.
We should go back over the early human construction activities, in
times when architectural rules were not established. The idea for
these first buildings originated from the arising needs and the
available materials. People adding and removing elements in these spaces, considering the available resources, was only taking place in order to solve problems. Over the years people evolved socially and these spaces were treated as “raw materials” that had to be processed and transformed in order to cover the new needs. The same method of
reconstruction is also applied in the area of Eleonas: «Somehow,
someway, It seems like the early space arrangements and provisions
live in us as a primal instinct of habitation” (Tassis Papaioannou
2015, 48). Thus, if we really want to comprehend the formation of the
free spaces and buildings of the area, we should take into account
these primal instincts.
There is a reason why the choice of the night shots was made. During the evening, the area is almost in a hypnotic state whereas in the morning, the area is characterized by a chaotic activity. “During sleep we have a liberation of desire” (lecture Dr. Ph. Kangelaris at the Technological Educational Institute of Athens 20/05/2015). This happens because there is a withdrawal of our Egotism Defense Mechanisms, mainly of our Ego, which “filters” the emerging human desires, and in correlation a surcease of all those morning activities, that do not allow the observation of the area. There are no titles, so the viewer is given the freedom to acknowledge the “unconscious desires” of his own city, in spite of their strive to be “something” there are fade to be “nothing”.
About the author:
Zissis was born in Germany. He spent his childhood in Orestiada, which is on the edge of Greece, near the border with Turkey and Bulgaria. The last twenty years lives in Athens. He like psychology and photography. In 2015 graduated from Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts at the age of thirty-eight years. He has been taking part in several small group photo exhibitions.
