It’s Time To Open The Black Boxes! | Athens, 2012

This installation is an ongoing participatory art project initiated by artist Danae Stratou. Living in Greece in a time of multiple crises, it is ever so easy to fall into a state of fear-induced paralysis. This art project was a reaction to such a prospect. The first version of the project took shape and was shown in Athens, in April 2012. The installation comprises 100 aluminum black boxes. They are positioned on the floor equidistant from one another, so as to form a grid. The boxes’ lids are open at an angle. Inside each box a black screen is positioned at a 450 degree angle in relation to the floor. Each time the exhibition takes place, local communities are invited to participate by sending a word as an answer to one of two questions for a period of 1-3 months prior to each exhibition: A) what frightens or threatens them the most, or B) what they believe is in urgent need of protection. In this way, the Black Boxes, when opened in a different city, will reveal local concerns, hopes and fears in a manner which, nevertheless, bind the different cities together.