The renovation of my childhood home — an act that marked its end — awakened a need to reconnect with the memory of the space.  From this arose a process of searching and recording: through the marks on the walls, the floating dust that seemed to carry the presence of those who had once been there, and the decay that suddenly became precious.
A search that served as a spark — a way to retrieve memories within another, more “material” space: the body. A search… in order to say goodbye.

Traces is a performance about memory and space — an attempt to reveal and record the imprints that experience leaves upon matter, tracing how lived experience transforms from energy into material form. The physical house, as a silent witness, records and maps the history of a family, becoming an archival space that gently safeguards memory within its walls. At the same time, through the performing body — as another kind of space — the work constructs a parallel exploration of mnemonic traces, many of them hidden or buried, perhaps forever.

A key reference and source of inspiration for the piece was The Traces of Experience by Ansermet and Magistretti (2017)

Concept, creation, and performance: Vassiliki Nomidou
Video and sound design: Erato Tzavara
Movement direction: Katerina Drakopoulou

12o Handmade and Recycled Theater Festival, Athens, October, 2024