image: Amaya Samper
in a rural part of Greece, somewhere close to Turkey and Bulgaria, stands a lovely town; her name is Dikaia. Here, people celebrate traditionally made phyllo dough pies, as each surrounding village brings their best of the best pies for the judges to decide who’s the winner of the year. The judges' choice is predetermined. As it turns out, many generations have left the area; the winner must be the village that can host the celebration in the upcoming year.
however, the ones who still dwell here have stories to tell, especially the elderly women. As it comes to be, those stories are the experiences passed through generations. Living in their memory lanes that become evident on women’s hands—finely wrinkled yet caring and giving.
to tell the story, the women lament, for birth, for a girl who got married too soon, for the death of soldiers, for the ones who went away too soon. They weep to tell stories of women, who hid from the moon, who swung their newborns till dusk, who burnt charcoal to keep wicked spirits away…
during Cotranspose residency period, we got the honor to meet the women who continue to carry such stories in the form of lament, a miroloi. More, for a three-day festival that the most welcoming, warm, and cheerful team of Cotranspose organizes, we ended the festival with a performative adaptation of those stories. Where the stories that continue to be lamented were turned into a sort of ritual union between us, young, eager artistic personas & the elderly ladies full of wisdom and transcendence.
the performance took place in a rather forgotten amphitheater of Dikaia. For it to happen, i witnessed the enormous power of collaboration that took shape through caring for each other, for the space, and its dwelling inhabitants
however, the ones who still dwell here have stories to tell, especially the elderly women. As it comes to be, those stories are the experiences passed through generations. Living in their memory lanes that become evident on women’s hands—finely wrinkled yet caring and giving.
to tell the story, the women lament, for birth, for a girl who got married too soon, for the death of soldiers, for the ones who went away too soon. They weep to tell stories of women, who hid from the moon, who swung their newborns till dusk, who burnt charcoal to keep wicked spirits away…
during Cotranspose residency period, we got the honor to meet the women who continue to carry such stories in the form of lament, a miroloi. More, for a three-day festival that the most welcoming, warm, and cheerful team of Cotranspose organizes, we ended the festival with a performative adaptation of those stories. Where the stories that continue to be lamented were turned into a sort of ritual union between us, young, eager artistic personas & the elderly ladies full of wisdom and transcendence.
the performance took place in a rather forgotten amphitheater of Dikaia. For it to happen, i witnessed the enormous power of collaboration that took shape through caring for each other, for the space, and its dwelling inhabitants
20 minutes
part of the CoTranspose residency period, Dikaia, Greece
credits: Eleni Tsompanidou, Eleni Voultsidou, Dimitra Kosma, Ro Rapoport, Christina Maridaki, Amaya Samper, Stelios Nentidis, Alba Ramos Cortés, and Gaia women association
credits: Eleni Tsompanidou, Eleni Voultsidou, Dimitra Kosma, Ro Rapoport, Christina Maridaki, Amaya Samper, Stelios Nentidis, Alba Ramos Cortés, and Gaia women association