For each work of art that becomes physical there are many variations that do not
Sol LeWitt
(Sentences on Conceptual Art, #12, 1969)
Sometimes it’s not possible to correct things. There is no ‘undo’ button, no Ctrl Z or other way to reverse a mistake that’s been made. That situation could lead to constant unpredictability, and if you realise it you need to find ways to exploit it and turn it into a virtue. The creative process evolves via successive steps and stages, each of which generates an interim result, though it may not necessarily be associated with the end result.
These interim decisions determine and alter the outcome. While one is involved in a process, the question of what is a mistake and when and how it is determined, depends on who is responsible for it. That person deals with and processes it each time in a subjective fashion, changing it, altering its designation since it deviates from the rules he put in place.
The mistake is an incident, an event; unintentional; an oversight. That’s where its charm lies. Putting things more politely, we are talking about coincidence: X uses coincidence. Mistakes can creep in anywhere, even in the best thought out, pre-planned things and when one is ready to use mistakes they are transformed into coincidences. Realising a mistake has been made entails stopping and thinking. It requires time, leading to daydreams and mental journeys, which often times changes the direction of one’s intention. An unwanted part of risk, mistakes are the tails that appear when you’ve bet on heads.
They are closely tied into repetition, without requiring it, and sometimes they can camouflage themselves amid the repetition. They’re related to gaucheness, improprieties, omissions and errors. Seen as inversely proportional to the current rules of morality and social conduct, and the idea of what is right, desirable and successful, mistakes are sometimes unfair, ‘otherly’, and are often viewed as a threat rather than an opportunity
curatining of the platform "erare ergo sum", SKOUZE 3, Art-Athina 2015
participating artists
Angeliki Avgitidou
Dimitris Efeoglou
Antigone Theodorou
Jason Karaϊndros
Elias Mamaliogas
Eva Marathaki
Sophia Marathaki
Virginia Mastrogiannaki
Maria Papapostolou
Pythagoras Hatjiandreou