FREE ARAF

The area of Omonia is in its entirety an “in between space”. Its square is used by the Athenians mainly as a passage,  –as it appears to be- a rectangle with no character whatsoever , defined by Pireos and St. Konstantinou streets. The surrounding buildings, busy roads and its non-functioning kinetic, metal sculpture, create a virtual cage that turns away the passerby and traps whoever is sitting in it.  The “permanent residents” of the Omonia Square, are in a continuous stand by state, waiting to be relocated (literally or figuratively). During 2016 the child population of the square has boosted, creating a temporary safe place.

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A wish is compressed desire in the form of request.

 

During the “Acts of Engagement” the artist approached the people of Omonia Square –young and old- collecting wishes in the form of drawings. The majority of the participants were children and they used drawing to illustrate their wishes on flying lanterns. Those objects function as wish carriers creating with their flight a mental vertical axle from the center of the square towards the universe.

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