Frutopia, a multi-discipline performance piece, was first conducted in September 2009 throughout the streets of Thessaloniki, Greece. The project employs various media to create the performance: video, audio, text, photography, and drawing. Frutopia is a work-in-progress – its performance is fluid and can flow in many directions as it reflects new observations and interventions. 

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The voice of a man is heard emanating from a loudspeaker mounted on the roof of an empty pickup truck. He is reciting the names of fruits. As the list of fruits is spoken, “…apricot, cherry, lemon…,” political-like slogans such as, “…beauty is in the streets,” and, “open your eyes,” are slipped into the narration and the listener hears, “…apricot, cherry, lemon, shut the TV, open your eyes, clementine, fig, strawberry, we do not fall in love with a growth rate, mandarin, melon, orange, watermelon, beauty is in the streets, peach, pear …, ”

 

The truck used in Frutopia is typical of those used by street vendors in Greece to sell fruits, vegetables, various other household objects, and to move or retrieve old furniture or other items. These vehicles and their audio broadcasts are ubiquitous – part of everyday Greek life. The Thessaloniki performance of Frutopia was set within in a specific riots of Greek youth and just before elections for a new government.