Environmental Art:

Artists Anonymous and their project Surprising Crete

There seems to be a group of artists, let's call them for the moment Artists Anonymous, who take pleasure - free of charge to you or me - in secret activities that enliven the Cretan landscape with their ingenious works.

When we first moved here, and having no knowledge of this underground movement, we were at times rather shocked by what we thought to be pure, unadulterated and unforgivable negligence - disrespect for the environment, sloppiness of both individuals and the authorities.

However, after talking to locals - Cretans, Greeks and non-Greek residents alike - we soon got the impression that there was something else going on; something mysterious - something we had never thought possible.

Now, after months of research and many an interview, we're a bit closer to the story behind all those items that look like wrecked cars and seem to have been dumped in nature or left in public spaces. We're not yet able to put our fingers exactly on the anonymous group of artists behind this phenomenon, but we're closing in on them.

Artwork by Artists Anonymous / Cretan Chapter - blue and beautiful, near Sellia/Souri.

It was during the first interviews, when local people who have lived here - apparently forever - convinced us that no self-respecting Cretan would ever, never, disregard their natural environment in such ways. Everyone just loves their children, so why would anyone mess with their future by leaving tons of rusting vehicles throughout the land- and cityscapes?

To tell the truth, we weren't easily convinced, but at some point during one such interview an old lady shuffled to a cupboard she had been given by her grandmother, and she produced a piece of paper - slightly stained and ripped in half. She handed it over for us to read, and she whispered that her grandson had found it - blown by the wind - near one of cars that looked like it had been abandoned by a previous owner ... in the same way that a tiny minority of Greeks - but more likely foreigners - sometimes abandon their cats in a plastic bag in a trashcan.

Artwork by Artists Anonymous / Cretan Chapter - red sculpture on the outskirts of Gavalochori.

On reading, and our Greek isn't that good, it seemed part of a mission statement by a group of artists who - without expecting any financial gain for themselves - were involved in the project Surprising Crete. The letterhead was incomplete but AACC was legible - and we think that means Artists Anonymous / Cretan Chapter. The mission statement said - in so many words - that they had several aims in mind when creating their cutting-edge avant-garde works of art.

For one, they didn't want people to remain utterly passive when driving or walking through nature, their aim - rather - was to make people think, to use their creative minds, to actively imagine how a given place would look without any such work of art. Also, they aimed to remind people of the dangers modern industrial goods could have on the environment - especially everything produced from metals that could turn to rust, pollute the earth, poison the water etc. IF, and when, apart from their art, rusting vehicles would actually be left behind by irresponsible citizens - foreign or national.

Artwork by AACC - located on the road from Likotinara to Georgioupolis - right after the sharp turn at the small church. To see it properly, you have to approach it on foot.

But the text also contained a passage, parts were not legible, that seemed to say that tourists and locals alike had - in their view - enough of all the greenery, millions of olive trees wherever one looks, white limestone and red earth. The human eye, the human brain - so it said - needed additional stimulation, clear points of reference, demanded touches of unexpected colour in a landscape that would otherwise be repetitive and - ultimately - thoroughly boring.

The grandson was called in and confirmed the story ... and ever since we've been looking for corroboration. We'd truly love to get in touch with this group of artists, or at least a representative, to get the full story and a verified translation of the document we've seen - in part.

We think that their efforts are truly inspiring, and their insight into the human psyche are mind-boggling, to say the least. We believe they should be subsidised by the EU for these outstanding efforts; and perhaps they should even be awarded the cherished trophy of the Golden Ass - so named after the famous novel of Greco-Roman times written by Lucius Apuleius Platonicus (123 - 180 CE).

Artwork by AACC - located on the road towards Ancient Aptera. Recently, this sculpture has been relocated.

We urge our readers to help us in the quest to find those artists ... and in the absence of real clues as to their identity, we hope - at least - to gather more photographic evidence that documents their unique creativity.