Outside the touristy centre of Athens, one is surprised to find numerous destroyed buildings that are in desperate need of preservation. The destruction of Athens’ urban space is not a new phenomenon, but rather a reality that Athenians have become accustomed to and live with on a daily basis. The city’s history of the German occupation during World War II, shortsighted politics in the 1950s, and the migration waves of the 1960s and 1970s led to the destruction of around 80% of 19th and early 20th century buildings. The financial crisis, its recession. and the current economic situation are further reasons for buildings to be deserted or be demolished. Maintaining, preserving, and renovating buildings have simply become unaffordable and a bureaucratic hassle that many landlords have given up on. But a change is also taking place in the central districts of Athens, where modern ruins are seen as an investment and are slowly disappearing.
Some artists and curators, like Orestis Mavroudis, see the drastic situation and draw inspiration from it. In 2019, he founded the art space CLOSING SOON, which he currently runs together with Despina Krey. As Mavroudis sees CLOSING SOON as an extension of his own artistic practice, his creative focus on works in the public space has also influenced the art space’s programme. For example, despite its physical presence being in the Petrálona neighbourhood, CLOSING SOON has recently shown two works in the city that deal with modern ruins.
One of them is the site-specific installation Dall’ Acropoli Al Pireo by Italian artist Anna Valeria Borsari. In it, an oil painting was installed on a wall of a derelict apartment in November 2022. The property was situated around the corner from the space’s original location in Petrálona. Until the end of May 2023, when the painting disappeared, the work withstood the winter weather,as did the remains of the apartment on which it was installed. The imagery of the painting showed the wide sea and it pointed to the port of Piraeus, forming a stark contrast to the cement and brick of its surroundings. The disappearance of the work was accompanied by the clearing of the plot, which included the removal of a tree and the disposal of garbage. Despite its disappearance, the painting remains connected to the remains of the ruin it once touched: having shared the decomposition of materials as a common ground, the piece and the site around it are now affected by a development that leaves no room for them.
Another ambitious off-site project by CLOSING SOON was the restoration of the mural Welcome and enjoy the Ruins, originally created by Nektarios Pappas in 2017. What makes it special is not only its current message, but also its artistic history, which is connected to documenta14 in Athens.
The work is a graffiti depicting this very phrase spread out on two rooftop walls that are visible from the terrace of the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST), one of the main venues for documenta14. In the summer of the art event, the artist entered the then abandoned building and wrote the phrase "Welcome and enjoy the Ruins" in the documenta typeface on the walls. Later, the building with the graffiti, like many others in central Athens, was sold and reopened as a hotel, which had to be extensively renovated in order to open for business. During this process, most of the graffiti was covered with new paint. Finally, after collaborating with the hotel, CLOSING SOON presented the restoration of the graffiti during an opening at the EMST this summer.
Like the first site-specific installation mentioned, Welcome and enjoy the Ruins is a work that changes over time. Back in 2017, the abandoned building with the message made an ironic remark on its own state, as well as that of the Acropolis that towers right above it and is impossible not to notice. Now, with the hotel as a collaborator on the piece, the message becomes a multi-layered commentary on the Athenian paradox: modern ruins are especially sought after by investors who turn them into hotels or Airbnbs to welcome more visitors, but the tourist-attracting old ruins need entrance restrictions to function.
Today, a part of the restored writing on the hotel wall is blocked by some furniture. This, and what happened to Dall’ Acropoli Al Pireo could be indicators for Athens’ future: the city is changing and the modern ruins are slowly disappearing — as might be the space for artistic interventions.
Currently at CLOSING SOON: ON VACATION… / ALDONA with artists Luchezar Boyadjiev and Emilija Škarnulytė. 04-10 November 2023. Opening hours 19:00-21:00.
