As part of my research project Tracing Traces of Traces at Onassis AiR Fall 2026 Open Days, I did the participatory talk Time Traveling Within Modernity’s Ruins in November 2025:

Time Traveling Within Modernity’s Ruins

As part of her research project Tracing Traces of Traces, Eliana Otta presents a participatory lecture with reflections about rapid changes happening in her hometown Lima, and in the places that make her feel at home here, like the Eleonas Bazaar (aka ‘Gypsy Market’). The market is now in danger of disappearing or, at least, undergoing a drastic transformation due to the construction of the upcoming Panathinaikos New Stadium. Its Peruvian twin, Tacora was also a solution for unemployed and impoverished people, usually migrants, as well as the theme of Eliana’s first solo show in 2008.

Now she follows closely what may be Eleonas’ last period in its current form, producing an archive of sound and visual material, including conversations with the vendors, part of which are featured in the zine launched during the Open Days.

Otta understands the market as an accumulation of traces telling of the multi-layered history of the neighborhood, linked to one of Athens’ most marginalized migrant communities. The objects it offers are remnants of past epochs, cultural trends, economic phenomena, and the circulation of goods in the region. Thus, the project connects traces of habits of consumption, production, and the ideas about fashion, use, and modernity that traverse our bodies and the cities we inhabit.