A performative walk exploring human bodies, breath, paper sculptural garments, bronze, monochrome mosaic, and soundscape.

The Breathing Body is a series of site-specific performances that explore the past, present, and future of a landscape — both in its physical and ethereal dimensions.

Clad in a semi-transparent paper garment, enclosed within a bronze frame, a discreetly transforming, anonymous body directs the audience’s attention to its own breath as it attunes itself to the surrounding environment and its sounds.

The Breathing Body (Anna Pagalou) traverses the Archaeological Site of Ancient Messene in a ritual of reconstruction within the continuum of Time, inviting viewers to connect with the unseen realm of sound.

From sunrise (Arcadian Gate) to sunset (Sanctuary of Isis and Sarapis), The Breathing Body examines the fragmentation of the concept of time through the lens of ancient Egyptian cosmology, symbolically gathering the fourteen parts of Osiris’s body and breathing life into them.

During this process, a sculptural paper garment is created by Georgia Gremouti. The delicate sounds of paper and breath open the audience’s auditory perception, evoking an experience of acoustic ecology.

At the same time, the monochrome mosaic (by Christina Nakou) symbolizes the fragments of Time, in dialogue with the recently excavated mosaics of Isis.

Spectators-listeners are invited on a walk-through exploration of the site of Ancient Messene — its sounds and its history — determining their own rhythm and mode of interaction with the experience. Small groups of visitors move silently through the site, connecting with the sounds of the landscape and the performative actions, under the guidance of composer Katerina Tzedaki, during organized two-hour sound walks.

Contributors

• Anna Pagalou – Performative Artist: Concept and Performance

• Georgia Gremouti – Visual Artist, Sculptor: Design and Creation of the Sculptural Paper Garment

• Christina Nakou – Visual Artist, Mosaicist: Creation of the Monochrome Mosaic

• Katerina Tzedaki – Composer, Associate Professor at the Department of Music Technology & Acoustics, Hellenic Mediterranean University; Founding Member of the Hellenic Society for Acoustic Ecology: Sound Walk Silent Ising

Production: Under the auspices of the Society of Messenian Studies and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia

Photography: Jason Hanasik