It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
(Jiddu Krishnamurti)
Images by Kon Markogiannis and text by Spyridon Kaprinis.
https://www.konmark.com/gallery_744207.html
http://www.crisiology.org/el/socialunrest/
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157533521311944&set=a.10151899182841944&type=3&theater
“The global articulation of urban social movements
that flourished in the wake of the financial crisis and the ensuing austerity
measures constitute one of the defining features of what you consider to be new
forms of urban activism.” [01]
-Joana Mayer in conversation with Margit Mayer
Social Unrest is a visual study that consists of photographs that act as an
oscilloscope of contemporary societal developments. Today's pessimistic reality
is mirrored in blurred, black and white palimpsests created by urban wall
posters. Dark human figures, insurrectional texts, black flags and crosses
create a wallpaper of existential anxiety and underlying social unrest.
The almost kaleidoscopic visual density of the posters reflects the various
contrasting psychogeographical elements of a city that must be kept in constant
vigilance prepared for the next protest or uprising. Torn and wrinkled, once
crisp and clean, these posters are signs of a people's transition from a state
of hope and optimism to a murky atmosphere
of despair and social tumult.
Through the images of this visual study one can
distinguish a substantial "nostalgia for what has been lost", as well
as a basic need for "building a different kind of urban experience"
[02]. If someone compares the superficiality of today's postmodern capitalist
way of life with the "visual assault" these street posters seem to
unleash, they will immediately realize that this is what the photographer
wishes to achieve: a "visual incision" in our collective unconscious.
References:
01. “Cities in the making: social movements, neoliberal urbanism and critical practices.” A conversation with Margit Mayer [2015]. https://lisbonconsortium.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/margit-mayer_cities-in-the-making.pdf
02. Harvey, D.“ The Right To The City.”
https://davidharvey.org/media/righttothecity.pdf
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