Ancient Souls In Human Bodies
The fourth edition of/Contempora opens with Apostolia Papadamaki's residency that will take place from 22 August to 1st September 2023 at the Castromediano Museum in Lecce.
Apostolia will create an experiential and participatory performance specifically conceived for the Sigismondo Castromediano Archaeological Museum, where contemporary performance merges with ancient mysticism and creates a thread that connects the public with the museum's exhibits in a symbiotic relationship with the past, an invitation to the public to witness and feel the hidden values that are deeply rooted in the archaic power of statues and sacred objects, in antithesis with the vulnerability of the human body, a performative ritual that seeks to awaken 'memory' and create a visceral experience of unity with our cultural heritage, nature and the cosmos.
Tempora Contempora #4
Ancient Souls In Human Bodies / Site Specific Performative Ritual
Anamnesis - Remembering our Ancient Future
An experiential and participatory performance designed especially for the Museo Archeologico Sigismondo Castromediano, where contemporary performance merges with ancient mysticism and creates a thread that connects the audience with the museum exhibits in a symbiotic relationship with the past, the present and the future.
An invitation to the audience to witness and to feel the hidden values that are deeply rooted in the archaic power of statues and sacred objects, in antithesis with the vulnerability of the human body, a performative ritual, seeking to awaken “remembrance” and to create a visceral experience of unity with our cultural heritage, nature and the cosmos.
A constant inquiry for sensory experience Ancient Souls in Human Bodies, combines multiple tools of expression, activates different levels of perception, and explores seen and unseen realms of reality. The piece is created with the “Anamnesis” method, that Apostolia Papadamaki has developed in the last 8 years in significant archeological sites of Greece.
Tempora Contempora #4 - Website
About Anamnesis Method
Anamnesis is merging performance art with ancient wisdom, tangible and intangible cultural heritage and science, aims to heighten the awareness of human existence, to increase the realization of human potential and to challenge the collective self-imposed limits about our origins, our relationship with the existing world / the cosmos and the role of humankind in it.
Starting from the Drops of Breath - The Underwater Dance Performance unter the Temple of Poseidon in 2015, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius in 2018, the sacred island of Delos in 2019, Ancient Zone - Alexandroupolis in 2021, the Minoan Palace of Zakros, Crete in 2021, The Sanctuary of Cabeiroi /Lemnos 2022, Apostolia Papadamaki is continuing her artistice research, expands her collaborations, and develops the methodology of Anamnesis, by creating tailor made site specific performances and educational events.
Without any intention of "reviving" but aiming to coexist with the archeological site, the museum or/and Nature, Anamnesis "co-creates" conditions of synchronicity and syntony so that the thread of Art continues with an uninterrupted evolutionary course for better humanity in which the Greek spirit plays a decisive role and brings us humans in pure harmony with Nature and the Cosmos.
The motivational power behind Anamnesis method is Plato’s philosophical concept that we, humans, possess innate knowledge which is called idea and lies in the heavenly realms and we can access this wisdom by remembering or recollecting memory from archetypal movements, sounds, forms, and words.
Using the unprecedented, multidimensional archeological site, dance movements draw inspiration from mythology and sculpture, music from mathematics and architecture and words combine reality with the non-reality of dreams. Past, present and future are simultaneously present, allowing us to explore the states of harmony and vibration of our collective memory, how flow or consciousness moves from one person to the other, and how an invisible power related to spirit or ether keeps us connected to the source of creation.