Vigil (2023)
Vigil was a participatory ritual invoking six goddesses of revenge from the Greco-Roman tradition, conducted to call for reparation for victims of heterosexual violence. An altar was meticulously arranged with candles, images, and offerings for each deity - Nemesis, Poenna, Eumenedis, Adrasteia, Kali, and Invidi - with participants invited to join in calling upon their names. The ceremony culminated with the solemn reading of names of individuals who had suffered from such violence. This ritual was composed around the image of a melting candle, for me a symbolic representation of a doing away of phallocentric society.
This ritual was performed in the context of Darkness Visible, a performance workshop orgnised by American artist Ron Athey, which took place in April 2023, in Athens, Greece.
Thanks to Ron Athey, Hermes Pittakos, Michele Occeli, Federica Dauri and Diana J. Torres.