With a highly symbolic inspiration, artist Giorgos Koftis set up an installation he named called “57 NAILS”. It is dedicated to the 57 people killed and the dozens of injured at the fatal train collision at Tempi, central Greece, on February 28, 2023.
The installation is located 500 meters south of the tragedy site.
In a post on social media, Koftis wrote that the installation “simply aims to show you and the rest of the world that somewhere, in the pervasive silence that prevails everywhere in the media, in the absolute absence of introspection and self-criticism, solidarity and love, pure spirits still live and as much as possible clarity and solidarity.”
Speaking abut people who voluntarily y helped with the installation, he wrote “there are people out there with pure hearts full of love and support and we are sure they are expressing themselves with us by the thousands. We do not accept silence, we are not cynical and vulgar as the media furiously try to shape our self-image, but simple people with much healthier reflexes than the widespread cynicism that prevails.”
Expressing the bitterness the investigation on the tragedy has created, Giorgos Koftis noted, among others: “Now Greece has an open wound in its heart. With the nails in her heart driven. We stand by the Tempi victims’ association and are with them in the request to revise the Constitution to remove parliamentary immunity. We apologize in advance to those who are not aesthetically covered by this movement, but art is not only intended to beautify but sometimes it needs to disturb. It is not easy for anyone, not even for us who entered the process of doing it. Even so, our hearts ache even silently since that miserable day…”
In his text, the artist fully expressed also the devastation of the victims’ families who anticipate that justice will be served.
More on Tempi tragedy here.
