Researching the interconnections between art and architecture, Xara Marantidou designed the visual identity of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2015 forming figures that resemble theatrical, opera or dancing characters.
“When I first started working on the visual identity of the festival, I focused on the masses of audiences moving in and out of the city, considering as starting and ending points of their tracks the festival sites. As an architect, I love to wander metaphorically on plans or maps so I started ‘visiting’ all the festival venues using Google Earth, transcribing them into abstract plans. When I had them all done, the next step was obvious: 13 different ‘Lego’ pieces that could form various figures depending on their composition. The venues became heads, shields, feathers, legs, hands, tails or even ears!
Since then, I have created 11 figures, inspired by dance movements, theater characters, or opera performances. The one that became the principal figure of the Festival is that of a Trojan Horse, the first that was created and the one that carries many meanings. For me, playing with small elements which, when combined, form something bigger, has always been a creative challenge.”
