Stand Free is an interactive installation first presented to the public in 2021 at Athens International Airport. The work invites visitors to reflect on the concept of freedom and connects them to Greek history.
Artist’s message
I recognize you by the gaze.
I know who you are; we share the same breath.
You stand here, ancestor and descendant;
200 folds forward· 200 folds back.
You stand here. A reflection is all it takes to bring you into existence.
200 years later. How do you experience Freedom?
The reflection takes you back, to then.
You recognize Freedom along the journey.
A journey that tests us.
That calls upon us to stand up tall.
That tests our resilience.
Take a breath and stand Free.
Stand Free, wherever you are.
Is Freedom, perhaps, in the moment?
Is it, perhaps, the moment itself?
You stand here, in the now.
You stand alone.
You are not alone.
You have yesterday and tomorrow within you.
You stand here.
Suspended slightly above the ground.
And everything fills with light.
Σε (ανα)γνωρίζω από την όψη.
Ξέρω ποιός είσαι· μοιραζόμαστε την ίδια πνοή.
Στέκεσαι εδώ πρόγονος και απόγονος·
200 πτυχές μπροστά· 200 πτυχές πίσω.
Στέκεσαι εδώ. Μια αντανάκλαση αρκεί για να υπάρχεις.
200 χρόνια μετά. Πώς βιώνεις την Ελευθερία;
Η αντανάκλαση σε ταξιδεύει νοερά στο τότε.
Αναγνωρίζεις την Ελευθερία στη διαδρομή.
Μια διαδρομή που μας δοκιμάζει.
Μας καλεί να σταθούμε όρθιοι.
Δοκιμάζει τις αντοχές μας.
Πάρε μια ανάσα και στάσου Ελεύθερος.
Στάσου Ελεύθερος όπου κι αν είσαι.
Μήπως η Ελευθερία υπάρχει στη στιγμή;
Μήπως είναι η στιγμή;
Στέκεσαι εδώ στο σήμερα.
Στέκεσαι μόνος.
Δεν είσαι μόνος.
Μαζί σου το χτες και το αύριο.
Στέκεσαι εδώ.
Λίγο πιό ψηλά από το χώμα.
Και ο χώρος γεμίζει φως.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Stand Free is an artistic commemoration created to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. It is an interactive installation that invites visitors to reflect on the concept of freedom, as shaped by the War for Independence, with the aim of connecting them to Greek history.
The means of achieving this connection is none other than the foustanela*. As visitors stand before the mirror, the foustanela appears on their reflection – transforming them into Greek freedom fighters of the past, in order to Stand Free. Being this bridge to the past, the foustanela’s predominant white symbolizes the purity of national struggles and the sacredness of liberation. Within that context, the concept of freedom takes on a different meaning of greater importance.
It is self-evident that freedom could not have arisen without revolution. The struggle of 1821 is the necessary historical event that enabled contemporary Greeks to stand tall – to stand free. It is the boundaries of that freedom that all Greeks are now called upon to reconsider through the prism of the contemporary world and all its challenges, while preserving their sense of identity and connection to their past and history.
The audio recording that accompanies the installation –accessible via QR code– thrusts the viewers into an immersive experience in which they are free to contemplate the work on their own terms and engage in an internal debate that either comforts or unsettles them, thus completing the interactive experience both visually and aurally.
*Foustanela is a traditional, pleated skirt-like garment, commonly worn by men in the Balkans (Southeast Europe). The foustanela is internationally recognized as the garment worn by fighters of the 1821 Revolution, and in the early 19th century it became Greece’s national costume. The foustanela is composed of strips of linen sewn together to form pleats. Each foustanela requires over 30 meters (~100 feet) of fabric and features 400 pleats, representing the 400 years of Ottoman occupation and the liberation of Greece in 1821.
PREPARATION OF STAND FREE – AT THE STUDIO
