Palinuro is a beautiful area full of history and mystery located in the Cilento, Campagna, Italy. Thinking of Joseph Beuys, I raked the detritus washed ashore from the Tyrrhenian Sea, temporarily transforming garbage into the symbolic-- until a storm took it away again. Cono sings a romantic folk ballad about a seafaring lad longing for his love. The day after the art disappeared a boar skull washed ashore--like an offering.

Palinuro, 2012
Video Performance 1:33

Palinuro follows the wandering trail of a woman who descends down a country road towards an ocean shore. Once on the beach, she rakes seaweed into the form of a labrys, the Greek symbol of a twin-bladed axe that is associated with female divinities. The narrative is scored by the voice and accordion music of a local farmer and sheepherder, whose song recalls ancient land traditions.


Concept and direction: Ginny Sykes
Performer: Ginny Sykes
Music: Cono
Camera: Jonathan Goldsmith