Pharmakos(on), 2013, performance.
Technopolis Cultural Center, Athens, in the context of APhF.13 and "Photography as Performance" curated by Demosthenes Agrafiotis and Andreas Pashias.
Conceptualised by James M. Lane, with the participation of Sotirios Bahtsetzis, Magda Dolgova, Vasiliki Ganiari, Zaharo Hilentzaris, Kostantinos Kaloudis, Alexandros Maganiotis, Jacques Marugg, Apostolos Plachouris, Raphael Raphael, Michele Valley,
Live clarinet, Thomas Drosos,
Video documentation, Dimitris Merantzas,
Thanks to Lefteris Christofis, Eleni Georgiou.
A butcher's block, a paring knife, onions, pipettes, a tissue box, water from the river Kokkytos (known as the river of wailing), a glass vessel and a glass funnel were placed in specified areas above the river Eridanos in Technopolis, Athens. Visitors of APhF.13 and the general public were invited to contribute their tears (with or without the aid of onions) throughout the period of seven days. A tear solution was produced and stored in a vessel.
On the seventh day, an early 20th Century woodworm infected studio camera was dragged to the performance area and ceremonially injected with the tear solution or "pharmakon". The spectators were handed single use Kodak disposable cameras in order to document the performance. Onion soup was prepared and served at the sound of a clarinet lament (traditional Epirus music).
