Extraction in the Cyclades: Digital Traces
How are the traces and histories of extraction revealed or remembered in the Cyclades today? How will mineral extraction and its legacies continue to shape the Cyclades in the future?
From the green marble quarries of Tinos to the iron mines of Serifos and the bentonite mines of Milos, the Cyclades’ rich mineral resources have shaped the islands’ social, cultural, and physical environments. Although mining and quarrying has been prevalent in the Cyclades since antiquity, mineral extraction intensified and diversified in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Traces of these modern industrial activities are etched into the landscape and collective memory of the island’s communities, anchoring stories of labor struggles, technological advancements, and environmental change. In most cases, the islands’ economies today rely more heavily on tourism than industrial mining. Yet the past, present, and future of mineral extraction in the Cyclades raises urgent questions about economic and environmental sustainability and reveals the interplay of local island histories and identities with global economic, geopolitical, and environmental forces.
In alignment with its mission, Archipelago Network launches a new multi-layered research project to explore and document these interconnected aspects of mineral extraction in the Cyclades. Titled Extraction in the Cyclades: Digital Traces, the project focuses on Antiparos, Milos, Naxos, Serifos, and Tinos—five islands of diverse scales and geological composition, with significant mining activity over the last several centuries. The project seeks to preserve the historical memory and cultural heritage of this activity from the late nineteenth century to present day, while also offering contemporary interpretations through photographic and moving image commissions.
RESEARCH, DOCUMENTATION & DIGITIZATION
AN’s research team, led by Jacob Moe and Eleni Zaras, first conducts field research to document, organize, and digitize endangered photographic and audiovisual archives from both private and public collections on each target island. Highlights include an audiovisual collection on emery mining in the villages of Naxos, photographic collections concerning labor organizing and sulfur mining in Milos, oral histories, studies and photographs of iron mining in Antiparos and Serifos, and audiovisual collections from the marble quarries in northern Tinos.
COMMISSIONING & PRODUCING NEW ARTWORKS
In parallel, Archipelago Network invites artists Sofia Dona and Ignacio Acosta to create two new digital artworks, based on their field visits and archival research. Specifically, visual artist and architect Sofia Dona will reconstruct an archive of movement, capturing women’s involvement in the historic 1916 miners’ strike in Serifos through an essay film. Visual artist Ignacio Acosta will carry out a photographic investigation of modern infrastructure and spaces of memory related to mining on each of the project’s islands.
Both the historical archive and the visual works address labor histories, material culture, and the contemporary imprint of mining communities, as well as the geological significance of these areas. As valuable elements of cultural and environmental heritage, they function as an interpretive tool to stimulate public dialogue around social and environmental issues in the Aegean region and beyond.
Selected archival material and the artists’ audiovisual works will be available on the open-access platform archipelagonetwork.org and presented on the islands through a public program.
The project is implemented in collaboration with local partners, including the Manolis D. Manolas Ecomuseum of Koronos-Naxos, the Megalo Livadi Association of Serifos, Kotoki Art Space in Serifos, Theotikos Sotiros Greek Marble, Dionyssomarble, Imerys Industrial Minerals Greece S.A., and the Milos Mining Museum. It is realized under the auspices and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture.