Elena Demetria Chantzis | MYSTERY 144: Leave What You Loved Once PARTICIPATORY PROJECT

“Leave What You Loved Once” is an interactive installation that invites the public to contribute
personal objects they no longer cherish. Composed of transparent cell box units, it creates a floating
display against the backdrop of Elefsina, allowing the objects and the landscape to become the
artwork themselves. Asking people to let go of things, is a symbolic action with multilayered meanings.
It captures objects in the moment of transitioning from their functional, individually- owned, indoor
existence to the public domain, sparing them from becoming trash.

The growing collection of personal objects becomes a monument hosting the leftovers of society and a
symbol of coexistence across divergent entities. Locals and visitors are encouraged to participate in a
collective action, creating a mélange of kilometer-zero objects and ones coming from afar.
“Leave What You Loved Once” aspires to touch upon critical issues such as property, production,
consumerism, democracy, changing Mediterranean landscapes, historical and contemporary remains
and current environmental and anthropological crisis. A call for collaboration and inclusivity, prompting participants and viewers to contemplate and reexamine the relationship with the material and the spiritual world, inviting us to recognize the potential for new histories and narratives through the objects we leave behind.

MYSTERY 144 Leave What You Loved Once
PARTICIPATORY PROJECT
ARTIST: Elena Demetria Chantzis (GR)
PRODUCTION: Wild Reeds (Panos Giannikopoulos) (GR)

*Elena Demetria Chantzis is SNF ARTWORKS Fellow (2020) in visual arts.