11 Dec GEFYRA
In 2021 we were shortlisted in the public art competition “Fertile Ground: Polihoros Lipasmaton, the next day”. Polihoros Lipasmaton and the organisation COMM’ON invited locals and park visitors to participate in collectively planning the future of the park and to choose a public artwork for permanent installation inside the post-industrial site of the park. GEFYRA was shortlisted by a committee along with another proposal and then it passed by public vote. We are grateful to have received 1002 votes. We received 22 votes less from the winning proposal, but happy we took part and learned about the history and challenges of this important place in coastal Attica.
https://www.keker.gr/gonimo-edafos/
GEFYRA proposes a lighting installation that acts as a bridge between the industrial past of the area of Polihoros Lipasmaton, the present situation and the transition to the post-industrial era, by metaphorically and literally connecting local people with the histories of the site. The proposal is inspired by the historical bridge of the Drapetsona neighbourhood that used to connect a street -and social- gap between two districts during the industrialisation era. It further relates with the difficult past of the fertiliser factory whose chimney still stands tall today, a vivid reminder of the gap between eras, but also between the current uses of the partly de-industrialised park.
GEFYRA proposes a symbolic connection of the silo building with its surroundings, extending a luminous arm towards the landscape. The lighting installation grows directly on the skin of the silo building, illuminating the geometry of the metal façade, thus recognising its present form. At the bottom of the façade the luminous structure extends outwards in order to anchor on the ground level and to invite visitors to cross it. The structure shapes a frame that reorients the gaze towards the sea while creating a new meeting point. The scaffolding-like structure allows for the creation of stages for performing arts, film screenings and other cultural events. Moreover, the lighting installation is seen from afar, conversing with the vertical geometry of the adjacent chimney and creating a new visual dialogue.
Beyond an art installation and local landmark, GEFYRA acts as a poetic gesture that suggests a new ‘interior’ in the park and at the same time acts as catalyst for shared, public moments.
ΓΕΦΥΡΑ