Sometimes Archaeology Dreams of Itself is a syncretic collection of texts and images, conceived by Nicola Baratto and Yiannis Mouravas in collaboration with a crew of artists invited to reflect on the subject of their research. It includes an imaginative panorama of recollections sparked by the quest for a Byzantine pillar lost in the waters of Venezia. Through archaeo(day)dreaming the research stems out towards manifold non-euclidean directions. Moreover, it aims to artistically probe the matter of archaeological legislation and of history; identification processes constructed through monumental symbolism becoming the embodiment of a myth or a national narrative; and finally, perception of time conjuncted to memory and imagination, that hopefully will lead to an elimination of temporal distances.
The artist duo initiated this publication, as a work done for their exhibition Sometimes Archaeology Dreams of Itself, held at HotWheels Project, in Athens, from April 12th till May 3rd 2018.
Book design: Viktor Gogas and Bend, Book Production and Distribution: Theofanis Dalezios and Dolce Pub.
This book includes visual contributions by Tom Kemp, Anna Laederach, Alberto Valz Gris, Benni Bosetto, Alessandro Crispta, Egidio Cutillo, Federica Menin, Laura Lovatel, Thalia Raftopoulou, Grigoris-Aris-Rigas Stasinopoulos, Maria Tzanakou, G and G Nordio, Chantal Nassef and Aaron MacLaughlin.
This publication was made possible with the help of Minke Havelaar and Yorgos Ploumidis of Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Post-Bizantini di Venezia.