PEBBLES ON THE BEACH
2016 spetses, greece
A spontaneous collaborative public work by my contemporaries, the people of Spetses and myself. Conducted during a research program in in Greece.
After spending a week of research in Athens, we arrived on the island of Spetses where we were given a week to develop personal projects. Immediately the streets of Spetses caught my attention. Entire lengths of road and path were made with carefully placed pebblework in intricate mosaics. Utilizing the sketches a notes of Greek designs and mythology I decided to reenact the practice of stone laying on a small beach by the port.
I worked within my options, and Spetses was bountiful. The beach was my surface and the medium was free. Tools found on the beach aided the construction of my design, and pebbles collected from the beach would fill it.
Before long, the locals came to take back the beach I had borrowed and made my project their own. I shifted my construction strategies to allow for participation that crossed language barriers and the project grew organically. I would leave and return to find more stones collected, or parts that had more progress done. From those that spoke English, I was given suggestions on design.
Unlike the pebbled mosaics of Spetses, my piece was not made to last. It was the result and distillation of my research and experience in Greece. What I borrowed was returned, and experience was shared amongst new friends and community.
one month after my departure - Fading back into Antiquity - Petros Haritatos