Visual Testimonies

With the digital everyday life being an unwavering condition, images play an increasingly important role.

The photographic snapshots of the various kiosks, the images of their anonymous owners or their employees, as well as the random representation of transactions with anonymous customers serve as visual representations of real life, whereas unfolding their own history at the same time.

•Wooden facades and quite simplistic constructions, a sign of the economic recession of the time.

•Working in the Kiosk is a male affair, a reflection of the social stereotypes of that period.

•Abundance and wide variety of products, an indication of the prosperity of Greek society in relation to the past.

•Working women in kiosks, a result of the general change of mentality of Greek society.

The Kiosk as a meeting point, communication and general social activity.

The kiosks, serving the habits and meeting the needs of the urban everyday life, functioned  as reinforcements for the continuation of similar behaviors-mentalities in the past and in the present (e.g. facilitating the eternal, as it turns out, habit of the Greek inhabitants for a short stop to take a glance at the headlines).

The kiosks owners as (cult) figures in the Greek consciousness then and now…

Tobacco products have always been the main commodity in kiosks and the one with the highest profit for the owners.

•Characteristic exterior aesthetics, interwoven with another era.

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•Wide range of printed publications,  a reflection of the needs of  another era.

•Modern exterior aesthetics, as a result of modern trends in urban architecture and design.

•A variety of products, a sample of (globalized) consumer culture and modern lifestyle.

The existence of a telephone device in the past testifies to the kind of communication technology that existed, the need for communication among residents, but also the central role of the kiosks in terms of facilitating this communication in the past.        

From the characteristic primitive wooden to the modern constructions of the kiosks, the successive mutations, priorities and necessities of the architectural-design process in Greece can be clearly noticeable.          

Repeated changes in the legal framework (dimensions, licenses, transfers, etc.), successive regulations on product taxation (e.g. cigarettes) and the emergence of competitors (e.g. retail chains) have significantly reduced the profitability of the kiosks, threatening them with closure. A fact, which reflects the ongoing transformation of retail and Greek economic activity in general       

The removal of the kiosks has recently been linked to new perceptions of public space (proper space order, accessibility, free space, landscaping of the urban landscape, etc.) and reflects the evolution of residential culture in Greece.                                                            

 
The different way of running some existing kiosks today reveals evolution, mutation, enrichment and so on of targeted marketing activities.  Therefore, addressing the new buying habits of Greek society.               

The attempt to update and embellish a kiosk strengthens its material presence, testifies to the effort to integrate it in the new economic-cultural data and perpetuates it as an integral part of Greek culture.