THE HELMET GUY is a site-specific performance created in 2021 by Artemis Chrysostomidou in the framework of TRAVERS Confront the future, a multidisciplinary project at Copenhagen Contemporary with Stefan Kaege -Rimini Protokoll- and Graffitimuseum. The first part, SHE SMELLS BETTER THAN A STICKER ON THE WALL, was an audio guide that followed the various letters that appeared on the ground, on signs or walls near Copenhagen Contemporary. The other two parts, THE HELMET GUY and MISALIGNED BRIDGES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS, were based on words from graffiti painted on walls near the building. The performance was created using the visual-linguistic material of the walls -see the BOLD words- as a dramaturgy.
SHE SMELLS BETTER THAN A STICKER ON THE WALL
There are usually more people inside than outside. There are not so many people under the stairs and no sculptures to observe. However, the narration is more important than the image. So, let's create a shared narrative memory that transcends space and language. I will need your trust. Let's go down the stairs. Be careful as you go down. Don’t look at the small holes. What's the reason for these small holes? Is it some kind of phobia game? Anyway, heights are dangerous. It’s better to avoid talking about it while you are still on the stairs.
Now you are on the ground, that's good. Once you take a few steps forward and a few steps to the left, you will see the letter H near your shoes. A few letters H are now next to your shoes. Can you think of a word beginning with Hthat could support your reality right now? Please remember that word. And let's move on. Leave Hall 6 in your right hand behind you. Once you see a bicycle parking lot on your left, approach it. You will see a letter written on the pillars. Is there a word beginning with R that is close to your reality? Can you repeat this word three or four times? Please try not to forget it.
Now, go back and continue until you find a sign on your right with the letter Cwritten twice. You are not the first person to pass through here. In fact, you are not the only one standing in front of this sign waiting for something. Do you have an Instagram account? If you do have, please log in and look for a woman named Artemis Chrysostomidou. If you don’t have an account then approach someone who has. I repeat, Artemis Chrysostomidou, spelling:
C H R Y S O S T O M I D O U
Take a look at her latest photo. She just uploaded a photo of herself confirming her digital presence. You can do the same thing, or not. I can not predict your reactions. But you will probably find a better way to communicate yourself. Now think of a word that seems closer to your reality and starts with the letter C. Look around and find a word that matches what you see. Try to look not only with your eyes but also with the inside of your palm or your sense of smell. You can approach someone who is there and smell them. Women usually smell better. This will bother some people. If the other person is okay with that, you can go very close to them, almost as if your nose is resting on their neck on the left or on the right side. Do you think that this intimacy with the other person can also confirm your presence? If not, you can take a picture and upload it to the internet as Artemis Chrysostomidou did. Do you think that you need someone else to define yourself? You are free to answer, Freud is gone.
Let's move on to the sea. About halfway along this distance you will find on your left a hidden old building with windows and stairs surrounded by trees. It looks like this sketch. Look at the building. Do you remember the word from the letter H? Remember the words from the letters R and C?If you do remember them, put the three words in a row. Attention! It is better to choose to put the words in the right order, otherwise the result will sound ridiculous or absurd and then no one will understand you. Once you find the right order for your words, a sentence will be created. Repeat it while standing among the trees looking at the windows and stairs.
Turn back and left. Someone is looking at you. You would better ignore him. It's just a sticker on the wall. Take off your headphones and share your phrase with others. Take off your headphones and share your phrase with others. Take off your headphones and -
THE HELMET GUY
He didn’t really know how to ACT. For example, when he was out for a walk, he was telling people weird words or words without any meaning like OND GBS LLYL or KILAS TOKYO NYPET and although he was thinking that this was an attempt to ACT SANE, all he did was make a fool of himself by wearing a HELMET without riding a bicycle, a MOTORCYCLE or any other vehicle. However, HELMET doesn’t help you to ACT SANE especially if you wear it at the DISCO. But that was something he ignores. Looking at the heads of other people moving naked and exposed to all kinds of accidents, weather and human unpredictable reactions, he had thoughts like, CARELESS people, KILAS TOKYO NYPET people your irresponsibility makes our world uglier and more dangerous. If none of you protect yourselves and one after another dies from an accident or some carelessness, in a few years human race will be extinct. And this will be your fault. Your fault, this will be a CARELESS fault, your fault, a CARELESS fault. This is a song: This will be your fault, your fault, this will be a CARELESS fault, your fault, a CARELESS fault, your fault.
This is a song with a dance.
MISALIGNED BRIDGES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS
Are you CARELESS while building a bridge? They say you are not a professional artist because you work at night. Do you want to be a professional? Work in the daily light and keep professionalism high. PAINT YOUR LIFE with professionalism and keep talking abstractly about serious life. Life is serious, art is serious you LOVER MAN, keep talking about activism and concepts, from Edgar Alan POE to the sushi chefs of TOKYO, keep talking about cooking as an art. Destroy eroticism and bridge your projects, ACT SANE, feed your brain. ACT SANE, feed your brain. ACT SANE, feed your-