ΣΦΆΓΙΟ

During my residency in Nisyros, I wanted to immerse myself in the traditional local rituals of the island. In the first two weeks of my stay, I dedicated my time to exploring the island and speaking with locals, gathering insights on everything from local gossip to ritual materials and instructions, ingredients, recipes, and over all exploring the way of living on the island. I sought to understand when and why these rituals took place, who performed them, and all the intricacies surrounding these public performances.

Once I had collected the needed information, I began shaping connections between the various insights I’d gathered. My initial goal was to create a “hybrid ritual” or custom—one that emerged from the microculture of the island but was distinctly unique. I experimented with recipes, crafted objects, and devised ideas that would constitute this new ritual. As this trans-ritual took shape, I decided on a location and designed a group performance around it. Together with the team of STERNA we descended from the path that connects the village of Emporios to the volcano, carrying “trans-offerings”—a hybrid
recipe inspired by traditional ritualistic dishes but specifically altered as offerings for the island’s non-human residents. Our journey ended at an abandoned church along the trail, where we left these offerings, activating the space with this new ritual.

The idea is to repeat this ritual walk annually, leaving offerings to keep the space activated and connected to the first trans-ritual of the island. Continuing and using this hybrid process as a world building tool I decided to create a “digital sister island” of Nisyros. This new island of a transformed materiality and fantastical mythology is shaped by reimagined ruins, valuable rocks, and hybrid, transparent creatures. In this new island
that will have the form of a digital open world video game/ landscape the viewers/ players are invited to explore, collect, and shape their own rituals, ultimately leaving their offerings on the digital sister island, Nisiria. Through this interaction, a ritualistic connection is formed between the physical and digital realms, extending the essence of Nisyros into a new, fantastical realm.