An idea that became a campaign, a campaign that became an exhibition, an exhibition that became a book.
The course of the “X them out! The Black Map of Racist Violence” campaign is a long and fascinating one. Its printing in a book by Topos Books marks the completion of a period of struggle for the elementary: Τo reveal the criminal activity of Golden Dawn in order for the wider public to realize its full extent.
The idea, which was born about two years ago, arose from a very particular need: To bring fore the organized hate crimes connected with the Golden Dawn case file. In order to render it visible and precise, we decided to map racist violence right where it happens: in the streets. So, at the exact spot of each attack we placed stickers with QR codes, through which people can navigate the black map of racist violence on their phones.
After we tracked down, through documented reports, the gravest incidents, we asked 50 Greek visual graphic artists to capture them – each with their own personal gaze. Next, we placed each attack along with the corresponding picture and description on the map of Greece and uploaded it to the valtousx.gr website. By clicking on the points on the map, the visitor realises that each place name is the scene of a bloody attack – that often went unpunished.
Finally, we asked visual artists, nationally and internationally, to sketch the main defendants in the Golden Dawn trial, thus providing fascinating visual material of proceedings that seem to have gone unnoticed by the national and international media.
This multidimensional and collective attempt constitutes the backbone of the “X them out! The Black Map of Racist Violence” initiative.
“Topos” Books with support of Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and HumanRights360 decided to publish this book as a documentation of the history of racist violence in Greece, but also as the smallest contribution to the yearlong struggle of the civil action lawyers in the Golden Dawn trial, since all the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to them.
The Black Map of Racist Violence Book constitutes the concentration of a nightmarish chronicle. But at the same time, it is a tool for knowledge, comprehension and transcendence at our society’s disposal.
The “X them out! The Black Map of Racist Violence”campaign is an initiative of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and HumanRights360.
*The book is published in English and Greek
Illustrated by:
Dimitra Adamopoulou, Tasos Anastasiou, Evangelos Androutsopoulos, John Antono, Aspalax, Marios Boras, George Botsos, Bratimoto, George Chalkias, Chrispy Shift, Molly Crabapple, Spiros Derveniotis, Vasco Gargalo, Dimitris Georgopalis, Tomek Giovanis, Giorgos Gousis, Kanellos COB, Valia Kapadai, Louiza Karageorgiou, Thanasis Karampalios, Thomas Kefalas, Stavros Kioutsioukis, Kostas Kiriakakis, Michael Kountouris, Aris Labos, Leandros, Stephen Livanos, Panos Maragos, Dimitris Mastoros, George Micalef, Panagiotis Mitsobonos, Dimitra Nikolaidi, No Budget Epics, Noir Captain, Alexia Othonaiou, Gabriel Pagonis, Panagos, Panayiotis Pantazis, Vangelis Papavasiliou, Pavlos Pavlidis, Thanassis Petropoulos, Thanasis Petrou, Piotr, Kianoush Ramezani, Tjeerd Royaards, Soloup, Stella Stergiou, Maria Stoian, Tasmar, Savvas “The Pack” Ampatzidis, Efi Theodoropoulou, Antonis Vavagiannis, Xanthos Venizelou, Lefteris Yakoumakis, Geοrgia Zachari
