State of Concept
Athens

Our personal data has been becoming part of a constant overflow of information controlled by algorithms. How do the power of the algorithm dictate our everyday is something we all experience. What we miss is clarity on how that is perpetually happening.

Mechanisms of the Seen is a series of events that includes film screenings, performance, an exhibition and a live discussion. Together, they unfold Maria Lalou’s work on the cinematic apparatus and algorithmic governance Camera and the Mirror and give a preview of the upcoming film experiment Image Infinite. In her continuous research and writings Lalou is re-thinking the viewers’ position, questioning the status of virtual images and the mediation of data controlled by algorithms today. This program, taking place over February and March 2024 at several locations in Athens, presents different components of Lalou’s investigations and also generates new elements in the overall body of work. Each presentation will be an opportunity to display and generate new ideas connecting Lalou’s work to the institutional, mediatic, and neighbourhood contexts of each space.

At Goethe-Institut Athen, State of Concept, and the Greek Film Archive (Tainiothiki) programs merge performance, conversation, and screenings. At State of Concept, Lalou’s feature-length The Dialogue screens as a one-time engagement, followed by another event pairing Lalou’s work Human Agents with Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Salaam Cinema. At Goethe-Institut Athen, Lalou’s Virtual Presence short is joined by a new, live-recorded performance-interview, In Resistance, with the presence of Daphne Dragona, iLiana Fokianaki, Rachael Rakes, and Maria Komninos. Additionaly at Goethe-Institut Athen will be a screening of a special pairing of Lalou’s short, Animated World, with Parallel I-IV, by Harun Farocki. At the film archive, Lalou will present another series of cinematically-engaged encounters including an installation of the drawings Mechanisms of the Seen and video work Camera and the Mirror, and events featuring the short work Image Infinite, paired with the classic film Le Mépris by Jean-Luc Godard.

PROGRAM

Saturday, February 17, 2024
State of Concept, Tousa Botsari 19, Athens

20:30
The Dialogue
Maria Lalou, 90΄
Introduction by i. Fokianaki

Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Goethe-Institut Athen, Omirou 14-16, Athens

20:00
Camera and the Mirror
Maria Lalou, 43΄

21:00
In Resistance
Performative Interview with Daphne Dragona, iLiana Fokianaki, Rachael Rakes and Maria Komninos, by Maria Lalou (pre-scripted / staged / recorded), 45΄ – Live

Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Goethe-Institut Athen, Omirou 14-16, Athens

20:00
Animated World
Maria Lalou, 6΄
Parallel I-IV
Harun Farocki, 43΄

Thursday, February 29, 2024
State of Concept, Tousa Botsari 19, Athens
*Please reserve your place at [email protected] 
20:30 
Human Agents
Maria Lalou, 4΄09΄΄
Salaam Cinema
Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 71΄

Friday, March 1, 2024
Greek Film Archive – Tainiothiki, Iera Odos 48, Athens

19:00, Hall 2
Camera and the Mirror
Maria Lalou, 43΄, loop

21:00, Hall 1
Camera Actors
Maria Lalou, 13΄19΄΄
Le Mépris
J.-L. Godard, 102΄

Foyer
Mechanisms of the Seen
diagrammatic drawings

Μuseum
Mechanisms of the Seen
diagrammatic drawings
IMAGE INFINITE – Silver Cine
Maria Lalou, 7΄17΄΄, loop
IMAGE INFINITE – Casa in Rome
Maria Lalou, 5΄34΄΄, loop

Free admission at the Goethe-Institut Athens and State of Concept.

Pre-booking is required on 29.2. at State of Concept.

Pre-booking is possible by sending your details to: [email protected]

The event is organized in collaboration with State of Concept Athens, the Greek Film Archive and the French Institute of Greece.