Αn imaginary documentary, an absurd, futuristic journey into a late-capitalist Athenian dumpsite where animals occupy the wrong spaces, institutionalized men wear their work uniforms after the institutions have failed, and wild birds in cages perform Stalinist trials. Alavanou takes as a starting point the futuristic film To New Horizons presented in the Futurama exhibition, at the 1939–40 New York World’s Fair. Her pilot project includes dystopic Modern Greek industrial landscapes in the periphery of Athens, such as a derelict oil factory in the outskirts of Attica or the abandoned Hellinikon airport. The allegorical use of animals, inspired by Goya’s depictions of birds in Disasters of War, serves as a metaphor for the refugee camps / prisons such as the one that recently occupied Hellinikon, restricting movement as opposed to the open spaces that the 1940 Futurama film envisioned the future to look like.

#future #horizons #environment #virtualreality #Athens #dystopian #refugees

photos: Nysos Vasilopoulos, 6th Athens Biennale 2018 ANTI