Produced on an island with a strong historical past this video with performance elements explores the idea of utopia in a modern world. Utopia, as an idealized conception of the perfect place, has captured the imagination of artists, puzzled philosophers, and been a frequent subject for writers. In Thomas More’s conception of it, as well as in subsequent and earlier descriptions of utopia, such as that of Étienne Cambe, utopia is presented literally or figuratively as an island. This is no coincidence, since the small and manageable scale of the island, as well as its isolation from the mainland, would facilitate the implementation of the utopians’ innovative and often meticulously detailed plans.
Angeliki Avgitidou studied architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (MA, PhD). She has exhibited internationally in venues such as the ICA (London) and the French Museum of Photography and she has participated at the Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, its Performance Festival and the International Biennial of Performance Deformes (Chile). She was part of the national representation of Greece at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (2015) and the 15th International Exhibition of Architecture of the Biennale of Venice (2016).
My work consists of performative works and camera works that directly involve space as a component of the work, as a place of action or as a place of expression of the public sphere, commenting on issues of identity and subjectivity, the sense of belonging, and the public-private dichotomy. Place, as a construction of historical narratives, as a palimpsest where personal and collective histories intersect or overlap, and as an expression of the conflicts of the public sphere, is activated for the creation of ephemeral and vulnerable monuments.
