Alexandros Mistriotis: Resisting Help
When we talk about our artistic practices in terms of production and distribution, we often sound like different people, disconnected from what made us choose an artistic path. Surviving or even merely navigating in the cultural field is a very sensitive exercise. One wonders if it is possible to talk about it without feeling alienated.
In spite of that, these production frameworks are a part of our method of work and if they feel disconnected then we must try to bring them closer to our practice and re-invent them precisely according to the practice, meaning according to us. When we do that, we might start doing unusual things and feel out of touch, isolated. The experience is though that if we follow through, we will end up with a rather personal answer that is nevertheless relevant to others. We shouldn't be afraid to try our limits; we can - or probably must - "take it personal".
Strangely enough this is easier today because it feels like the end of an era. Reinvention is in the air: in Europe, in the US, everywhere. We share this feeling that we are facing an end. But what if the disaster has already happened? Unfortunately, it doesn't mean that from now on things can only get better. It most probably means that we are simultaneously living the past, the future and the present of this "catastrophe".
For some artists, this means they have to proceed as if nothing ever existed, go back to the very basic questions and conditions and even resist all sorts of things that are obviously there to help them.
Avoiding help can be very helpful.
Alexandros Mistriotis is an artist based in Athens (Greece). He studied visual arts but his practice is oscillating between images and words, questioning the distance between poetry, theory and performance. Ηis writings and performances are developed under the project for a "Theatre of Quietude". A large part of his work is an investigation of public spaces and cities. He collaborates systematically with other artists in the performance field as a dramaturge.
