Tangible objects [in] animate truths
(2023)

Maria Glyka and Vassilis Vlastaras

Site Specific Installation, 24-28 April 2023
Athens University History Museum
5, Tholou Street, Plaka, Athens

The aim of the project is to explore the relationship between personal objects and history, and to create a dialogue between art and theory. The project involves a collaboration between artists and researchers. The artists will use a variety of media, such as cardboard and paint, drawing, photography and sound, to create a multi-sensory experience for the visitors through the existence of spaces within the space. The participants of the programme will be asked to bring from their homes a personal object that holds significant meaning or memory for them. This could be anything from a childhood toy to a family heirloom or any domestic object that they use. Then they are invited to place their objects to be displayed among or within the art installation in the space of a history museum. In the space of the museum the installation will be creating a dialogue between the objects, the artwork and the historical context of the museum. The artists and the participants will engage in a conversation on the coexistence of their stories, the material they are made of, the questions risen upon the objects’ movement from their homes into an installation, the idea of their everyday use and possible new meanings among their new environment.

The project aims to create a space for reflection and contemplation, where visitors can engage with the personal objects and their stories, and reflect on their own personal objects and memories but also being able to create new connotations among spaces of the museum. The installation will also provide an opportunity for the researchers to reflect on the relationship between their personal objects, their research, and the historical context of the museum as well as their views on the artists’ work.

Overall, the project aims to explore the relationship between personal objects, art installation, and history, and to create a space for dialogue between art and theory. By bringing together artists and researchers, the project hopes to create a new form of collaboration that can generate new ideas and insights into the relationship between personal objects, theory, art practice, and the historical, social, and cultural contexts, in which they are situated.