The work PROTOS | ΠΡΩΤΟΣ is inspired by the sequence of Prime Numbers and inscribes itself in a continuous line in the landscape. It progresses and renews itself in each of its geographic steps, it integrates itself and reveals the architectural or landscape specificities of the territories covered.
From the Greek πρώτος { protos } which means first, these numbers are marked by the continuity and succession in time of an endless sequence, that of Prime Numbers. Since Greek and Latin antiquity, mathematical language has been associated with harmony, rational thought and the creation of civilization itself. From the Pythagoreans where “all things are numbers” to Galileo, for whom “…the book of nature is written in mathematical language…”, there is a direct link between the understanding of nature and human creation.
From modern times to the present day, the omnipresence of mathematical language, as a tool of discovery and invention, of communication and exchange, but also of power and domination, makes the Number as an indispensable element for individuals and societies.
In this systematic inscription, numbers lose their arithmetic value and acquire an abstract, irrational dimension.
The work was born in Cyclades, at the height of the Greek crisis. Alluding to the omnipresence of numbers in the country’s media, it continues to find meaning in the saturation of public space in Europe by economic discourse, quantitative norms, algorithms and other tools of governance, and allegiance in the all-digital age.
*A prime number is a natural number that allows only two distinct (and positive) integer divisors. To date, the sequence has 23,249,425 numbers