“A painting exhibition that was held with great tenacity,” she tells us a little seriously and a little jokingly. Artemis Hatzigiannakisand talks mainly about the opportunity to present his recent painting work – a series of watercolors – on Air bath in Plakaa monument of Ottoman times, containing images and sensations of centuries.

However, the same perseverance was required to collect material for a specific exhibition called “Vrisaki. In search of the lost region. It is also known from her previous reports that Ms. Chatzigiannaki is non-working by nature. Drawing themes of historical memory and the urban landscape from her pictorial and research work, she systematically delves into Athenian topography and composes her visual world – a distinctive anthropocentric view of the city’s experience – through photographs. However, in order to realize her desire to draw Vrisaki, she had to “dig up” the archives of the American School of Classical Studies. The rich and rare photographic material that the artist had at her disposal captures the social life and personal experience of the inhabitants of this particular Athenian quarter in the 19th and 20th centuries.

“The exhibition aims to evoke a challenging experience for the visitor. Following the internal structure of the baths, the mysterious architectural arrangement and the gradual disclosure of the internal structure of the space, the works of Artemis Hatzigiannakis obey the logic of dispersion, like a game in search of treasure,” the writer and journalist comments. Nikos Vatopoulos who edits the report.

Few fragments of this vibrant and bustling universe survive intact in the area today. As Ms. Chatzigiannaki tells us, “this place has completely changed its appearance, and has turned from a place of modern life into an archaeological park.” Vrisaki was expropriated and demolished in the early 1930s for the excavations of the American Classical School. The boundaries of the lost area today are occupied by the archaeological site of the Ancient Agora and adjoin the borders of Plaka. However, the exhibition takes place at a time when the interest of the general public in Athens has been growing at all stages of its history, as evidenced by the large number of events, tours and publications on the topic of dating. with the history of the capital.

“Darling. In search of the lost area.” Until 12.31.