You, the last leper

The inauguration of the artistic project “You, the last leper” will take place on June 2nd 2012 at Spinalonga Island and will be open to visitors until October 31st 2012. The entire island of Spinalonga will be transformed into a work of contemporary art by the artist Costas Tsoclis and his team.This artistic intervention alludes to the period 1903-1957 when the island of Spinalonga was a place of confinement for lepers. The island itself as well as the ruins of the buildings, the hopeless desire to escape, the desperate need to communicate with the outside world, the vast number of suicides, the decay, the lack of mirrors for obvious reasons, the intense eroticism, the deaths and births, the filthiness and the tideness, all the above are a source of inspiration for the artist. The music accompanying visitors during their tour on the island was composed by Nikos Xydakis. Tsoclis says “In the ancient Greek tragedies, where the fate of the heroes is always gloomy, the beauty of speech arrives followed by the unexpected solutions to the complicated relationships and situations, to redeem the heroes, as well as the viewer. In the same manner, I aspire to identify the visitor with all those isolated from society, who saw their bodies and souls slowly melting away, and then redeem him through the charm of nature and art, leading him eventually to the realisation of his own luck, and thus enabling him to enjoy the gifts of life, of freedom and of art.” The event is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Region of Crete, the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos and the Municipal “Costas Tsoclis Museum” and is under the auspices of the Greek National Commission of UNESCO. Curators of the event: Katerina Koskina and Bruno Cora. From visitgreece