Μνήμες Σωμάτων/
Σωμάτων Μνήματα
*Memories of bodies, body memorials
The work explores the relationship between memory, the body, and memorials through a wordplay on the Greek terms “μνήμα” (mnima – memorial/grave) and “μνήμη” (mnimi – memory), alongside their connection to “σώμα” (soma – body). The work examines how the body itself functions as a living memorial, a vessel that preserves the essence of those it has encountered.
The piece was developed through a series of walks with my mother in the First Cemetery of Athens. These walks and conversations around the burial ground activated layers of our connected memory, shaping the process of writing the text and filming the work. The cemetery, as both a site of remembrance and an architectural record of loss, provided a landscape where the presence of the absent was deeply felt.
Drawing from the etymological roots of the Greek verb "μιμνήσκω" (mi-mni-sko – to remember) and its Latin origins, the installation reflects on the enduring nature of memory.
Traditionally, a memorial is meant to serve both the dead and the living, standing as a timeless marker of remembrance, when here the body takes on this role, embodying memories and carrying them and creating an ongoing dialogue with time.
This piece explores an aspect of embodied memory—the notion that memories are not solely stored in the brain but are deeply rooted in the physical body. Through sensory and emotional imprints, the body becomes a site of retention, holding past experiences at an unconscious level. It acts as a “mobile home,” transporting its history of interactions from the past into the present and future.
The piece was developed through a series of walks with my mother in the First Cemetery of Athens. These walks and conversations around the burial ground activated layers of our connected memory, shaping the process of writing the text and filming the work. The cemetery, as both a site of remembrance and an architectural record of loss, provided a landscape where the presence of the absent was deeply felt.
Drawing from the etymological roots of the Greek verb "μιμνήσκω" (mi-mni-sko – to remember) and its Latin origins, the installation reflects on the enduring nature of memory.
Traditionally, a memorial is meant to serve both the dead and the living, standing as a timeless marker of remembrance, when here the body takes on this role, embodying memories and carrying them and creating an ongoing dialogue with time.
This piece explores an aspect of embodied memory—the notion that memories are not solely stored in the brain but are deeply rooted in the physical body. Through sensory and emotional imprints, the body becomes a site of retention, holding past experiences at an unconscious level. It acts as a “mobile home,” transporting its history of interactions from the past into the present and future.
By juxtaposing the concept of the "grave" with the Greek idea of "μνήμα," the installation moves past burial, and to the concept of recording and preservation of memory. In Mnimes Somaton / Somaton Mnimata, the body is a memorial to those it has known. The body becomes a living archive that retains and expresses the symbolic weight of past relationships, and experiences.
“Memories of bodies/ body memorials” is a video installation conceptualised, filmed & written by Raisa. The editing was done by Vasilia Sofro, the sound composition is an original score by Dimitra Sofroniou and the translation by Meropi Papastergiou.
“Memories of bodies/ body memorials” is a video installation conceptualised, filmed & written by Raisa. The editing was done by Vasilia Sofro, the sound composition is an original score by Dimitra Sofroniou and the translation by Meropi Papastergiou.