PEKTRIES / STOA 42 EDITION site-specific installation + video performance @ Stoa 42, Panepistimiou 42, Athens| 2023
watch the episode: http://comotirio.com/
Stoa 42 operated for over 40 years as a photographic shop, while in the Greek cinema of the golden era of the ‘60s it appears as a barber shop. Pektries, an ongoing series of site-specific performative actions reflecting on the multiplicity of symbolism of hair, local history and contemporary everyday life, take on their role anew. In the present times of filters and selfies, they recreate an environment where the two former functions of the space become intertwined and connotated, while the flash of the photographic lens continuously records mementos.
Πέκω (pek-e/o) > in Greek: to hackle, to comb hair. Πόκος (pokos) > sheep wool. Πέκτρια (pektria) > the woman who cards the sheep wool. A consonant to παίκτριες (paiktries) meaning “the female players”, a spelling error embracing the jesting, gambling and fun element.
Special thanks to Nikos Picopoulos (Picopoulos Camera Service) and Giorgos Pavlakis (Everyday A Story) for supporting the project.
