Eleusis European Capital of Culture invites once again Beforelight group to light up the longest night of the year. The light installation entitled ‘Light Sgraffito’ in Agia Markella’s square, the heart of Chios Community in Ano Elefsina, is the result of the participatory design through workshops with the local community and it is mainly inspired by the anthropological and folk traditions of the island of Chios and in particular by its medieval technique known as ‘Xysta’.

In the daylight, ‘Χysta’ interact with sunlight creating shadows on the blind side located at the back of the installation. At night, ‘Χysta’ are lighten up to stand out from the background as dark silhouettes, in contrast to the light outlines along the construction. This light installation creates new geometries light experiments.

The project developed progressively from September 2019 through a composite participatory workshop that was carried out in eight phases, with the participation of 15 residents of Elefsina. Under the coordination of Beforelight group, and through conversations with scientists, artists and light designers,the participants became familiar with the different concepts and uses of light and its multiple possibilities as a medium for expression and as a tool for creative intervention in the public space of the neighborhood and the city. The result of this workshop is reflected in the lighting installation of Ano Elefsina.

Workshop’s participants: Sophia Laskou, Konstantinos Veroutis, Alexandros Psaltis, Efthimios Mitsos, Vasileios Kanakis, Vera Feleki, Alexandros Anouar, Aggeliki Sechremeli, Panayiotis Kondilis, Christodoulos Balokas, Stelios Fragoulakis, Elena Gioka, Panayiotis Marougkas, Mairi Michailou, Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos, Maria Papagragkou, Eva Rizou, Costis Sikiotis, Filippos Margaritis, Fiorinta Tsenai

Workshop’s invited speakers: Stelios Zerefos, Filippos Koutsaftis, Dimitra Aloutzanidou, Hlias Chatzichristodoulou, Matina Magklara

Collaborator architect: Anastasia Tsopelaki
Metal construction: Christos Mavrakis (windoors)
Electrical installation: Sakis Dimitriou, Giorgos Tsiaparas
Programming: Dimos Kapetanellis
Photos: Gerasimos Domenikos, Beforelight