argallios | Vasiliki Bakali

Argalliws by Kollektivemind* is a public, interactive installation that
took place in the island of Crete. With the help of students,
teachers, parents and citizens of Chania, some 2100 recyclable
plastic water bottles were gathered, cleaned, painted and placed
on the fence of the 7th Primary School to create a colorful pattern
based on traditional Cretan woven textiles.
The diamond-shaped structure of the chain-link fence served as
the ideal canvas for this contemporary interpretation of the folklore
culture of the island, as the local art of geometrical weaving is
based on one and only shape, the diamond and its variants. The
plastic water bottle, colored with ecological paint in the six basic
colors of traditional fabrics, was used as the weaving material.
Through this creative, collective procedure a public landmark with
ecological and vernacular character was constructed on the edge
of the old city fabric. A colorful mosaic that stretches on top of the
remnants of the ancient walls of Chania and attracts the sight of
passersby towards the school, an important, yet neglected, public
space located on a less privileged area of the city. Highlighting the
presence of children in the urban context, it also provides a means
of reclaiming public space for the people of the neighborhood.
Kollektivemind* presented this installation as part of p_public, an
international meeting of emerging professionals concerning public
space organized by the Architects’ Association of Chania.
Sponsors and contributors to the event where the Cretan mineral
bottled water ETANAP-Samaria and VECHRO Colors.