COME TO GREECE GIA NA TIN VREIS

‘Come to Greece gia na tin vreis’ is an online art platform that draws photographic material from social networks. This material is the basis of the project, which is produced in real time and is constantly updated. Raw material is uploaded to Instagram by tourists visiting Nisyros who have been asked to post photos using ‘#cometogreecegia’ to capture what they came to find in Greece or what they finally found that may not have been part of their expectations. This pool of images is transformed, through an algorithmic program, into an art piece which is displayed on the project’s web page that will be constantly enriched with new images.

This creates a branding for both Greece and the art that is promoted in the local boats that connect Nisyros with Kos, in the agencies that ‘sell’ the tour packages for Nisyros and in the place where the visitor arrives. While it seems like an attempt to ‘sell’ something to the visitor, in fact we invite him to participate in an art project that focuses on Greece as a brand.

In the tourist image of Greece as a promotional branding, a ready-made setting with traditional clichés that try to activate the imaginary of the consumer of travel experiences, we want to compare the image produced by the tourist-consumer himself as a ready-made, which is reproduction of the original ready-made, which is a reproduction of the image of Greece as a product.

The project focuses on the transformation of art through its digital reproduction, on how it is produced and consumed digitally. In the role of the artist as an ‘auteur’ and the uniqueness of the work of art as well as in how the consumer of digital content is also its creator, as is the case on social networks.

Unlike traditional-analog art which is subject to a number of space-time and demographic constraints and is evaluated on the basis of the authenticity of the work of art, ‘Come to Greece gia na tin vreis’ removes the boundaries between artwork and copy, professional and amateur, ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, creating a ‘chaos’ of images that enhance the participatory and interactive nature of the internet.

Reversing the classic process of curating an exhibition, where works are selected from scratch or commissioned to specific artists, ‘Come to Greece gia na tin vreis’ provides the digital environment in the form of a designed art website, without knowing the works that will be posted and without being selected based on their artistic / aesthetic value. There is no time of completion, the project works with ten images and a thousand.

The material that will be collected will become the content for further actions within the project while the goal is ‘Come to Greece gia na tin vreis’ to become a platform that in the future will collect material from all Greek tourist destinations in a continuous interaction with tourists (locals or visitors) & social network users.

COME TO GREECE GIA NA TIN VREIS by Em Kei & Greg Haji Joannides is an art project of STERNA organization.

Visit the website here

COME TO GREECE GIA NA TIN VREIS is presented at the group exhibition IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR HOME curated by 3 137 in Athens.