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Graduation Show | Sommerrundgang 2025 |

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf

3- channel video installation

Title:

00:00:00-00:04:40 System(e)

00:04:40-00:10:10 An Zak/ Zackie Oh
∞

Full HD | 16:9 | sound (stereo), colour

languages: german, greek (with english subtitles)

size of the canvases: 126x224 cm (h*w)

distance from the wall: 50 cm

production year: 2024/25

countries of production: Germany, Greece

photos by Kai Werner Schmidt

Artist Statement

My graduation show in July featured a three- channel video installation comprising two versions of the same video, each with a distinct ending. The first version is titled System(e), while the second is called to Zak/Zackie Oh!. The three video projections were synchronized and played in a continuous loop.

The spoken text, authored by a medical professional and narrated by an AI voice, meticulously describes nearly every movement and command the brain issues to the body during the act of writing. The central projection consistently portrays the gradual process of me writing a Greek word, captured from various camera angles that shift continuously. The meaning of the word remains undisclosed to the audience until the conclusion of the video.

The projections on the left and right display different types of movements that generally correspond to the spoken narration. Upon completion of the writing, the audience discovers that the word translates to <<σκοτώνω>> which means ‘I kill’ in Greek. When I stand up, the camera shifts perspective to reveal the backstage area of the studio.

The first version, System(e), concludes with two silent stone images projected on the left and right screens. At the end, the right image suddenly moves, and the video ends leaving the interpretation open to the audience. In the second version, to Zak/Zackie Oh!, there are no images on the side projections; instead, a real- life sound recording is played. The audience then learns that the audio was recorded by a bystander at the time and place where LGBTQ+ activist and drag performer Zak Kostopoulos, also known as Zackie Oh!, was murdered in broad daylight on a public street in Athens.

In Western society, there is often a subconscious, ingrained hierarchy that determines whose lives are valued more than others. This hierarchy is perpetuated by institutional practices, such as the sinking of migrant boats and police brutality targeting people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and anyone who deviates from the dominant white, cisgender, heteronormative norm.

This systemic devaluation of marginalized lives is exemplified by the case of Zak Kostopoulos, whose murder was triggered by an impulsive and violent reaction from a shop owner and later exacerbated by police involvement. The perpetrators believed Zak was under the influence of drugs and attempting theft—a reaction that may be superficially characterized as reflexive. However, subsequent investigations revealed that those responsible had ties to far-right political groups, indicating that this so-called impulse was ideologically motivated rather than random.

From a physiological perspective, movements can be broadly classified into two categories: intentional movements, which result from cognitive processes, and unintentional movements, which occur without conscious control. Examples of unintentional movements include yawning, reflexive actions like withdrawing a hand from a hot surface, and pathological movements such as tremors. By meticulously describing each movement using scientific terminology, the act itself—in this case, writing—is reduced to a purely functional and mechanical process.

The work aims to investigate how our behaviors and actions are shaped not only by inherent biological mechanisms but also by external social stimuli. It underscores that an action never occurs in isolation; rather, it represents the culmination of a complex sequence of interactions influenced by social and cultural factors, much like the coordinated effort of thousands of muscles and nerves required to produce the simple movement of a finger.

Credits:

Camera, editing, sound:
Agapi Oikonomou

Performers:
Katerina Tzouvala
Vaggelis Petroulas
Stavros Klarnetatzis
Mira Posingies
Lu Pilates
Ioannis Oikonomou
Agapi Oikonomou

Text:
Christian Zanders

Voice:
AI (Soundly: Lukas B)

Special thanks to:
Matthias Neuenhofer
Alec Crichton
Volker Hennes

contact me to get access to the full video

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