Trygos
by Maria Nikiforaki
Video duration 2’ 17’’

The Mediterranean and Greek cultural and visual background has always been a spiritual environment for social fermentation. The Dionysian Mysteries role was to remove inhibitions and social constraints because it served as a discharge of the individual and a return to a natural state. Such manifestations provided liberation for those marginalized by society. This body of work explores the qualities of the ‘spectacle’ of the customs and tradition as a form of celebration and an answer to a political call for resistance. The memories I have of Greece are these flirtatious moments when the society celebrates its excess, in this case the wine making process. Excess and expenditure can be an erotic gesture, can it also advocate an alternative way of thinking of economics.

Maria Nikiforaki graduate of the Athens School of Fine Arts in 2012. Participated in numerous Art exhibitions and Festivals, among those the Latitude Festival, Big Screen, 2014, London, England, Performance “Voyage 3” Festival 2013, Helsinki, Finland, “Excentricités 3” Performance Festival 2012, Besançon, France, The Athens Biennale of New Artists 2011, Greece, 3rd Art Biennale MIET 2011, Thessaloniki, Greece. Currently she is attending her Masters at the MFA in Fine Arts course at Goldsmiths University, London. Maria lives and works in London.
http://cargocollective.com/marianikiforaki