Places at war always attract a myriad of factions.

Vultures that want to capitalize on the collapse of a previous regime and possibly make a “reality” of their “reality”.

When Syria collapsed everything from major nations like USA and Russia fought wars there and allied with minor faction of Kurds, Anarchists, Taliban etc. A collapse into war creates two hydras fighting at best, maybe more. I remember that even a member of the American hardcore band, Warkrime, went to fight for the Kurds (?) at the same time making it into a reality show you could follow on Twitter.

We all live in a fragile mental construction of what reality and stability is. Most people in a society outside of collapse just want to keep this reality in check. A narrative in your own world building collapsing is like a taped Alien movie being interrupted by a Friends episode on a VHS tape in the 90s. All of a sudden you have to decide if you want to see if Alien continues, embrace Friends or pivot to something different.

Of course it does not always have to be this dramatic, in terms of war not VHS that is…

For countries like Greece that have endured extreme economic hardship for a EU-country, yet not fallen into violence, there is still a reality that has been broken. And as a consequence the vultures land to create a new reality for both its local inhabitants as well as the self image of those vultures themselves. In Greece the battle is more cultural than physical. The usual suspects that would move to Berlin in the early 90s show up here. Artists, musicians, tattooists, writers, curators etc as well as the more sinister megacorps and foundations backed by successful said megacorps or interest organizations for various countries. Wealthy Chinese people buy property and wealthy Americans purchase land. An economic collapse, even a small like the greek, attract alot of attention.

In the case of Berlin I think we have already seen the outcome of this battleground. With Athens not so much yet. Of course the concept of capital and big corp is omnipresent as everywhere in the west so one might think the race is already lost/won. The same feeling strikes me when I am here today as when I visited Berlin for the first time 2004. That the foundation of a western system is still in place but the details are yet to be determined.

For a place like Greece, that has laid the foundation for the whole European project, it is an especially interesting time to see where this part of the world will pivot. Can Greece sustain the pressure of, in extension, America influence and become the first purely European country post Trump? Will it form a new bridge in-between the north and south as and start functioning more as a euro Istanbul? Will it configure itself in a totally unforeseen way?

Nevertheless it’s presence is clear despite its economic struggles. As a child in the 90s, Greece was a vacation country of little cultural merit that was rarely mentioned in northern Europe. Still, its economy was in a much better condition relative to its European neighbors. Back home in Sweden obvious cartoon characteristics, like olives and Platon, and hotel complexes next to beaches ruled the image of Greece. Athens was a capital and a distant historic memory, at least to me and many of my peers growing up. Today this city is a place that means something beyond that. Athens, as a defining location, sits as a cultural mecca where the urban chaos provides a much needed “Oriental” infusion in a European self image that is slowly crumbling under the false narrative it has constructed around itself.

Other than thinking about I went to see Merzbow, and more importantly some great Greek stuff, and visit the Benaki museum. More about this later… At the bottom is also the track of this post.