This 19th century etching illustrates the great dichotomy that faced Greek Society in the years leading to Prime Minister Trikoupis’ dramatic declaration of a National Bankruptcy (1896).
The Alafrangas, European educated Greeks led by Kapodistrias wanted to form the modern independent nation not as a folklore relic, but as a direct descendant of the glorious ancient Greece. In the first image we see a cafe divided into two sections, one for the rough, peasant shepherds and mountain fighters wearing the kilts and the colorful embroideries, the other for the Alafrangas, wearing refined suits and playing billiard.
As a result of the great bankruptcy, the International Financial Commission was founded to supervise the enormous loans that would help Greece become an "independent" nation. Inside the cafe Orea Hellas it was folklore vs neoclassical, colorful vs pristine, shelters made of sticks and stones vs romantic white marble ruins.
Even nowadays, as Greece is navigating its' second major financial crisis, one can sense that the country is a collage between the glorious and somewhat virtual ancient past, and the live real present.
As a result of these notes on aesthetics and history, we devised the space of Feeder, at the Breeder project space, as a combination of two spaces. One space is inhabited by a pristine white lacquer system of modular seating and dining units, the other by mismatched, used chairs and tables found in the area of Metaxourgeio.
The two spaces are collaged together, as a continuously evolving ruin where chairs become benches, tables extend to become columns, new seats are born from old, and richly woven traditional kilims are laid on glossy white surfaces, in an architecture that continually copy-pastes between the virtual ancient past and the real folklore present.
Table for Two, white lacquer module resting on found table part |
Seat for Two, found chair part bolted onto white lacquer module |
Table for four, white lacquer module bolted onto found table part |
Two Chairs (white lacquer modules and found chair parts) Greek folk rug, early 20th century |
Feeder @ Breeder, reservations start October 5th
Located at Breeder Projects
Design Andreas Angelidakis,
design team Andreas Angelidakis, Sotiris Vasiliou
fabrication Vangelis Anagnostopoulos, Mr Vangelis, Zair, Fad, with special thanks to Mr Sifis Lycakis
Cooking for the first trimester Troo Food Liberation collective
for reservations call Breeder +30 210 3317527
Located at Breeder Projects
Design Andreas Angelidakis,
design team Andreas Angelidakis, Sotiris Vasiliou
fabrication Vangelis Anagnostopoulos, Mr Vangelis, Zair, Fad, with special thanks to Mr Sifis Lycakis
Cooking for the first trimester Troo Food Liberation collective
for reservations call Breeder +30 210 3317527
Fantastic, Andreas!
ReplyDeletegreat idea and realization. way to go.
ReplyDeletesmells like Kippenberger´s The Happy Ending to Franz Kafka´s America
ReplyDeleteείναι πάρα πολύ έξυπνο!
ReplyDeleteΑναρωτιέμαι αν υπάρχει κάποιος που μετά από αυτό το άρθρο δεν έχει πάθει σοκ, με τη δημιουργία του the Feeder και με τη σύλληψη που είχε ο καλλιτέχνης. Ειλικρινά ΣΟΚ
ReplyDelete