Drifting Lives

‘Drifting Lives’ four-minute video-project consists of sequential fragments of images-videos-emails that form a narration. It tells the story of two architects, a couple from Greece working abroad, living apart, working long-distance, leading drifting lives according to their contracts at work. The storytelling video ‘Drifting Lives’ is itself OUR (the creators’) lives’ narration through the collection of arbitrary everyday iconic images, in a symbolic sequence. According to Benjamin, ‘The Storyteller’ defines the art of storytelling, as a story which is not mere information or report. «It [the story] sinks the thing into the life of the storyteller (…). Thus traces of the storyteller cling to the story the way the hand-prints of the potter cling to the clay vessel.» ‘Drifting Lives’ sinks into our everyday, real and virtual, to bring it out in three iconic sequences, for HIM: hometown in Greece (home), his transit stop in Athens and life in Lagos, Nigeria (work); for HER: the everyday (home), in-between life in Athens and a dream-scape of a women’s school in Jeddah, KSA (work), for which she works long-distance. The two characters perceive the work-live separated duality differently: he works abroad and misses home; she lives at home while working abroad.

Fragkiadakis Alex & Zisimopoulou Katerina