The next Harry Houdini
Eva Marathaki presents at room 525 her video "The next Harry Houdini", based on the famous magician's (1874-1926) escape acts. The work takes the form of a videogame in which the artist has three opportunities to surpass Houdini's quick and successful escape from his ropes. Marathaki assumes the role of the magician who was the idol of illusionists, women, actors, immigrants and others and a persona she herself admires. Houdini's own measure of success was the following: "The easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place someone is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death." Marathaki seems to be fascinated by the notion of magic and the power suggested by such extreme practices. The work constitutes a reality show of challenge and entertainment. The suspense mounts as the artist is called upon to carry out her task, keeping the viewer on edge till the end. Marathaki attempts a liberation both literal and metaphysical, as she alludes above all to the psychological confinement of contemporary Subjects which constitutes the main theme in "The Next Harry Houdini". At the same time she appropriates the capacity of the magician and its allure upon the public and introduces it into the centre of the character whose role she plays and hence at the core of her work, attempting to give multiple interpretations to the role of the artist and her relationship with the viewer / recipient.
The video is accompanied by a series of drawings depicting objects, words or phrases that featured large in Houdini's ideology and views. The presentation of Marathaki is completed by an impassable gossamer; an installation of a dense, suffocating plexus as a clear allusion to the impasses and barriers of body and soul. There is no doubt that Houdini triggers in Marathaki questions around the innumerable social, political and financial pressures to which people are subjected at all times and places.
Finally, viewers take over the chair of Houdini and Marathaki; in other words they are invited —or challenged—to "transform" themselves into Harry Houdinis. Becoming the "next magician" and accepting the notion of his entrapment, the viewer can then break free with one move of his or her mind, thus confirming Houdini's conviction that "My brain is the key that sets me free."
Maria Stathi
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