PINK HOUSE PRESS

I write what you write, I walk where you walk

pink house press & Track Report – Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp.

This book follows a project developed on the rocks and slabs of Syros between 2020 to 2022.

During our walks around the island, we noticed engravings dating back to the 19th century on the stones and rocks of Ermoupolis, the capital of Syros and the Cyclades. Inspired by that we placed 26 new inscriptions with the idea of creating a “permanent” exhibition that enters into dialogue with history as well as with the landscape, we thus began a journey unfolding stories on the rocks of the island. This book is a guide to discover these traces.

book concept Ersi Varveri and Gijs Waterschoot

contributions from artists engraved in various locations around the island Gregor Andzelm, Philip Angermaier, Elena Bajo, Valentin Cernat, Sébastien Delire, Nico Dockx, Alexis Gautier, Erik Hagoort, Leen & Hera Hammenecker, David Horvitz, Heide Hinrichs, Charlotte Koopman, Dimitra Kondylatou, J.Krissis, Bram van Meervelde, Peter Schamaun, Rien Schellemans, Denys Shantar, Jeannette Slütter, Ersi Varveri, Gijs Waterschoot, Myrto Xanthopoulou, Aya Zamir, Yi Zhang

A walking discussion with Teo Romvos (writer, activist, researcher) & Chara Pelekanou (scholar, editor, photographer, activist) visiting an old inscription dating back to 500 BC.

photographs Gijs Waterschoot, Ersi Varveri, Rien Schellemans, Chara Pelekanou

texts Ersi Varveri, Gijs Waterschoot, Teo Romvos 

Greek poems Kostas Varveris (from Rinismata, 2009) 

quotes Italo Calvino (from Collection Of Sand), Ursula K. Le Guin (from The Carrier Bag Theory Of Fiction) 

design Ersi Varveri, Gijs Waterschoot (in collaboration with Nico Dockx, Wouter Van der Wangen) 

published by TR • Track Report (Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp) and pink house press

print Bruno Devos, Stockmans Art Books

language English, Greek

copies 500

pages 306

size 8,5x12cm

pink house press #104

TR23/01
D/2023/411/1

ISBN 9789464363371

© 2023, the artists, the authors, Pink House Press 

_They are not as visible as graffiti on city walls. Most of them lie on the ground, entangled with our footsteps. They are small and subtle and tend to vanish into the sunlight. Some worn-out and less visible or covered in motorcycle oil, others broken into pieces and moved to different neighbourhoods. 

We were so excited that instead of going swimming or taking a siesta at noon, we wandered the streets and alleys of Plakes or Pigada, looking for “traces”.

All these petroglyphs are leaving a hovering impression, whether they deserve our attention or not… Lingering on all this we kept our eyes to the ground… 

Spending more time on the island, once we decided to make it our new base, gave us enough time to develop ideas. We began gradually to think about how to participate in this conversation of the stones that runs through time and that we somehow became part of. We then thought about expanding this landscape or network of traces. 

Following the way we worked with previous Pink House Press editions, we invited a group of artists and asked them to send us a piece that we could transfer and carve onto the rocks. Within one year we collected 26 different contributions, scouting the island to find a location for each one of these works. 

Connecting to a new place is a process, it is part of a practice that develops over time. These new engravings became our companions into this transformation. 

Embracing the island and its innermost rhythm step by step —or in our case stone by stone— we would like to invite you to take this book as a tracking tool to discover these traces. A guide that fits in your pocket, like a small pebble picked up along your walking path. 

for purchases contact: the2pinkhouse@gmail.com

thanks to all the artists involved_

Joachim Badenhorst and Bei W Tan for letting us stay in their house to finish this book_

Nico Dockx for his involvement from A—Z with bringing this

stone to light_

Martin Engi, Teo Romvos and Chara Pelekanou for their input_

Lars Bjørnsten, Els De bruyn, Sébastien Delire, Bruno Devos, 

Olga Evangelidou, Loula Klimi, Charlotte Koopman, Aggeliki Psilopoulou, Rien Schellemans, Ejnar Stig Askgaard (Museum Odense)

to Bart