12/02/2014
Group PER SE: Panagiotis Vorrias / Panos Kompis
“12/02/2014” / Video projection, action in public space, rolling glass bottles / Dimension variable / Duration  2’ 24’’ / 2018

The visual artist’ s group PER SE was created in 2012 and is composed of  Panagiotis Vorrias and Panos Kompis. The Per Se refers to an open group that seeks collaboration with different fields in order to investigate the boundaries of art language within the social field.

What inspired the creation of 12/02/2014 was a random incident during an evening stroll in the center of the city of Athens. Some scattered glass bottles tumbled downhill generating a sound that prevailed over the usual urban soundscape. The sound constituted the precursor of the scene that followed. It was as if people, vehicles and activities froze for a few seconds to hark the violent compelling noise that progressively got louder as the bottles rolled towards us gaining momentum.

We asked a small group of people to try and replicate this random incident. With the urban landscape as a background, a coordinated action succeeded the random incident. A number of bottles were placed centrally and along the street forming a single body. With an abrupt movement the barrier that we used to hold them in place was removed and the bottles rolled slowly at first and then careened downhill. They banged on the asphalt surface and among each other and after a while they ended up scattered and shattered on the edge of the street.

It is an action that takes the form of a game and assumes a social character as it occurs in a public place and transforms and transcends given functionality. It functions diffusively and transforms the psyche of the people who participate. At the counterpoint of social anxiety and social coercion, it gains vital space for our lives.

CREDITS |  12/02/2014
Conceived by: Group Per Se (Panos Kompis, Panagiotis Vorrias)