Ephemeron

Ephemeron (2009): A Responsive Environment in the Form of a Soft Sculpture for the project "e-MobilArt Project" [Ithaki August-September 2003] Materials: Fabric, sand, wire, suspended speaker array, computer, video projector, Dimensions: 4m (length) x 2.5m (width) x 4m (height)

Ephemeron offers a responsive environment; it is a soft biomorphic kinetic sculpture, made of an elastic textile suspended from the ceiling, stretched downward and anchored to the earth by the weight of a sandy floor. This membrane forms the outer skin of a virtual organism of light and sound. Upon entering the structure, the visitor becomes part of the organism, causing the barely audible soundscape to become more emotionally engaging, revealing increasingly coherent fragments of traditional songs. As the visitor takes time to pause, sense and reflect, the video also transforms, subtly integrating the viewer into the object and (perhaps) rendering the invisible, visible, the intangible, tangible.

Ephemeron was created by four artists from different countries who were brought together by the e-MobilArt Project. The artists collaborated both face-to-face and online, starting off in Greece. A source of inspiration came from the work of Nikos Kazantzakis: “I am an ephemeral being, frail and weak; full of mud and dreams”. Kazantzakis talked of “…transform(ing) all the pain and struggle into dreams and, as far as possible, glorify(ing) the ephemeron, making it a song (trans. Eleni Panouklia)