For the Palimpsest project I have created a light installation which attempts to provoke to the viewer an instant feeling of mystic and romantic “memory”. The narrative idea is based on a story on the marine week, which used to take place at the lake each summer during the 70s. The week was devoted to water sports contests, such as rowing and water skiing. This week ended with a mysterious nocturne parade, whose protagonists were colorful paper lanterns, hanged over traditional wooden boats. After a tour at the lake, the lantern parade ended at the island. My installation is an attempt to recreate in a smaller scale, the mystic impression of colorful paper lanterns by the lake. The primary materials are paper of different colors and light. In order to make them manageable and durable to various climate conditions, Ι boxed them into transparent polymer pipes. The installation consists of 40 pipes of 40cm each. When a passenger passes by, the “lanterns” will automatically turn on for 2 min, and then they will turn off again. This will cause the viewer a surprise and will create a short-term intimate space by the lake of Ioannina, especially during the night as well as foggy days.
Iro Laskari’s research interests are in Visual Communication & non-linear narratives. She is a graphic designer, researcher and artist. Since 2006 she is teaching design in the Master course: Graphic Arts – Multimedia, at the School of Applied Arts of the Hellenic Open University. She has a BA in Graphic Design (Athens University of Applied Sciences), Maîtrise και DEA from Universite Paris 8, and MA in Research in Interaction, from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD), Paris. She holds a PhD from the Dpt of Communication and Media, University of Athens in the research area of Generative Audiovisual Narratives. She has taught in graduate and postgraduate courses since 2002 and has participated in several international as well as Greek conferences and exhibitions.
