P A N T E L I S M A K K A S
Sylvia,
Video Performance, 2020
Pantelis Makkas presents the performance Sylvia, a study of the extraordinary story of dancer Sylvia Claire, who underwent a heart-and-lung transplant and discovered that the new organs were not the only inheritance. Haunted by a dream, Claire sought out the family of her donor, a teenage boy named Tim L., who had died in a motorcycle accident. She came to realize that two souls could coexist within a single body. Over time, she embraced a new identity—a third entity that was neither the old Sylvia nor Tim, but a fusion of the two (A Change of Heart, 1998, Grand Central Publishing).
Claire’s experience can be read through the lens of dualism, the philosophical notion of the struggle between matter and spirit. In this context, her story becomes a moment of wholeness: body and spirit are no longer opposed but coexist in harmony. René Descartes posited that mind and body are two entirely distinct substances—the mind immaterial and capable of thought, the body material and subject to mechanical laws. As Gilbert Ryle later described (1949), humans live “through two parallel histories, one consisting of what happens to their bodies, the other of what happens in their minds.” Claire’s journey challenges this strict separation, suggesting the possibility of convergence and synthesis.
With Sylvia, Makkas completes a decade-long artistic investigation into the memory of the body, a research project initiated in 2009 in collaboration with Leiden University (Netherlands). This trajectory includes his solo exhibition Constructing Memory through the Moving Image at the Macedonian Museum–Alex Mylonas (curated by Denys Zacharopoulos, 2011), as well as performances—The End of Oblivion (2012), Genie (2016), and Black Leg (2017)—and video works—Blank Slate (2009), Dissertortion (2009), and Monologue (2010)—all exploring similar themes.
The performance transforms the stage into a space where memory, body, and spirit intersect, interrogating identity, inheritance, and embodiment. Makkas’ vision is complemented by the presence of Aggeliki Stellatou, whose movement and physicality bring Claire’s story to life, adding depth and resonance to the work.
Pantelis Makkas : concept, video
Aggeliki Stellatou : choreography, performance
