“I would like to have a huge bakery giving out free bread every day”
Walking in the center of Athens we started noticing white posters with contrasting black lettering, dotting the chaotic visual landscape. Following the trail, it appears to be a cohesion, messages of hope and sadness from living breathing people, refugees or residents of Greece? Probably invisible to the hassle and bustle of the city. The posters themselves were anonymous, no credits* no explanation, just a random encounter and a brief experience for the few people that will notice.
*edit: this is an art project by Tim Etchells called: And For The Rest (Athens) commissioned for the Fast Forward Festival. Went mostly unnoticed and confused a few people.
“I just want a dog – That is my dream”
“I would like things to be simpler”
“I wish people had kinder hearts. You can feel that people’s hearts have become harder”
“Something should change. Something should happen”
“I would like to see the sea from my window and to know that my family are near”
“I don’t have anything here, not even papers”
(Top) “I want my child to be able to go to school. I have no problem if it is a Greek school or Arabic school. It is all education”
(Bottom) ” I would like people to say good morning when they see me leaving the house, or even just smile. I’ve been in this neighborhood seven years and no one has ever wished me good morning. I used to try to greet other people but you see that they are wary”
(Top) “I cannot think beyond wanting to have a job and some money. It is impossible to think that I would want anything else”
“To have hope and faith in hope”
“I would like to have a huge bakery giving out free bread every day”
“I would like to have all the proper documents”
“I have no one to take care of me so I take care of myself”
“I want my life to be worth something”
“I will stay here till the end”
“To be free to roam the planet, wherever you wanted, without any restriction, that would be a great joy”
“I miss my tent and the fire in front of it. I miss walking barefoot on the soil of my village. I miss being there and speaking my language every day”
“See what must change, what needs to be done”
“We cannot change the world, but in the square there are kids – Greeks, Albanians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, everyone – and they can change the world”
“To have flowers everywhere”