in the street its obvious that people have been trying to advertise themselves/their cause/their skills and services by the amount of layered selotape left on walls and posts that mark the remanents of old notices. These small, often unnoticed public spaces are a 'free for all' here in Athens and being completely reclaimed by the public time and time again as a space to communicate with others. There is always an element of confidentiality however, in this process of hanging notices around the city - only select personal details are disclosed and only those who are interested rip off a tag or jot down the number. I perceive this as a silent/elusive plea/transaction. People are trying to reach out in a non-confrontational way, they wait for those who are interested to step forward. It creates a democratic space that can be entered or ignored
I've never seen so many posters or notices in the street before and you can't help but put it down to the social/economic crisis in Greece at the moment. Citizens have only the public space to seek refuge. It's perhaps the only space where things can be seen and heard or the only space that can be accessed.
Newspapers, television, the internet - are they inaccessible or redundant within Athens for this form of self-promotion and personal professional aid? It could be that within the epicenter of the crisis new forms of salvation are sought, these global forms of communication just don't work the day-to-day issue of getting by.
In Edinburgh such notices are found in shops or restaurants on designated notice boards. The whole city of Athens can be a notice board if needed. Where in Edinburgh, I know people who have been fined and told to personally remove all notices and posters, here it appears that this situation would not arise.
I've never seen so many posters or notices in the street before and you can't help but put it down to the social/economic crisis in Greece at the moment. Citizens have only the public space to seek refuge. It's perhaps the only space where things can be seen and heard or the only space that can be accessed.
Newspapers, television, the internet - are they inaccessible or redundant within Athens for this form of self-promotion and personal professional aid? It could be that within the epicenter of the crisis new forms of salvation are sought, these global forms of communication just don't work the day-to-day issue of getting by.
In Edinburgh such notices are found in shops or restaurants on designated notice boards. The whole city of Athens can be a notice board if needed. Where in Edinburgh, I know people who have been fined and told to personally remove all notices and posters, here it appears that this situation would not arise.
This notice was hidden. It is an old one where newer notices have been placed on top. Does this make the old notice invalid? What about the person behind the old notice - do they know their notice is now covered? Would they care? Do they accept that that is the consequence of using public space as advertising space?
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