The Dance of the Mechanic
(Ο Χορός του Μηχανικού: O Chorós tou Michanikoú)
split-screen film essay
installation, -/+ 12 minutes
conducted interviews, archival footage, self-shot video, sound, narration
Supported by Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (AFK) and het Mondriaan Fonds.
Exhibitions:
- Mondriaan Prospects 2026
- 25-05-2025 - Official Afterparty Art Week Amsterdam // Open Studios - ISO (work in progress)
- 24 t/m 26-10-2025 - De Bouwput Amsterdam (work in progress)
Economic pressure
For centuries, Kalymnian men have descended beneath the sea in search of sponges. Initially, they dove naked, using only a smooth stone, a skandalopetra, tied to a rope for guidance. These unarmored dives rarely exceeded 25–30 meters, and the stone’s hydrodynamic shape let divers touch the sea almost as if they were part of it.
In the 1850s, the arrival of the Standard Diving Dress, or skafandro, marked a turning point in sponge diving. The helmet, fed by surface-supplied air, became central to a growing industry eager to extract more from the sea. Now encased in a protective shell, the diver could reach new depths and harvest sponges previously out of reach. But with greater depth came greater risk. Thousands of Kalymnian men suffered paralysis, pain, or death. Between 1886 and 1910, an estimated 40% of these “mechanics”, as the hard-hat divers were called, either died or became permanently disabled.
Though the economic demand for sponges (for hygienic/medicinal/industrial purposes) fueled this industrial expansion, the divers themselves were often exploited laborers, pressured by owners and middlemen to push beyond safe limits. The shift from the skandalopetra to the skafandro not only transformed the dive physically but marked a rupture in the relationship between humans and the sea. Diving with the skandalopetra was an organic practice, where the diver was almost in communion with the sea, using a simple tool to navigate but still deeply connected to the natural world (not pushing the limits of the human body).
(Ο Χορός του Μηχανικού: O Chorós tou Michanikoú)
split-screen film essay
installation, -/+ 12 minutes
conducted interviews, archival footage, self-shot video, sound, narration
Supported by Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (AFK) and het Mondriaan Fonds.
Exhibitions:
- Mondriaan Prospects 2026
- 25-05-2025 - Official Afterparty Art Week Amsterdam // Open Studios - ISO (work in progress)
- 24 t/m 26-10-2025 - De Bouwput Amsterdam (work in progress)
Economic pressure
For centuries, Kalymnian men have descended beneath the sea in search of sponges. Initially, they dove naked, using only a smooth stone, a skandalopetra, tied to a rope for guidance. These unarmored dives rarely exceeded 25–30 meters, and the stone’s hydrodynamic shape let divers touch the sea almost as if they were part of it.
In the 1850s, the arrival of the Standard Diving Dress, or skafandro, marked a turning point in sponge diving. The helmet, fed by surface-supplied air, became central to a growing industry eager to extract more from the sea. Now encased in a protective shell, the diver could reach new depths and harvest sponges previously out of reach. But with greater depth came greater risk. Thousands of Kalymnian men suffered paralysis, pain, or death. Between 1886 and 1910, an estimated 40% of these “mechanics”, as the hard-hat divers were called, either died or became permanently disabled.
Though the economic demand for sponges (for hygienic/medicinal/industrial purposes) fueled this industrial expansion, the divers themselves were often exploited laborers, pressured by owners and middlemen to push beyond safe limits. The shift from the skandalopetra to the skafandro not only transformed the dive physically but marked a rupture in the relationship between humans and the sea. Diving with the skandalopetra was an organic practice, where the diver was almost in communion with the sea, using a simple tool to navigate but still deeply connected to the natural world (not pushing the limits of the human body).
In contrast, the introduction of the skafandro (diving suit) transformed the practice into a more technology-driven one. The diver entered the ocean equipped with industrial tools, marking a shift to a form of industrial conquest.
Industrialization and capitalist expansion increased the pressure on divers to push their bodies to the limit in pursuit of higher yields. To meet the demand for sponges, they undertook long trips: eight-months during summer, and two-months during winter, diving many times per day. The sponge industry began to decline in the mid-20th century due to a combination of factors, including overfishing, outbreaks of sponge disease, and the introduction of synthetic sponges in the 1940s and 1950s.
O Choros tou Michanikou (The Dance of the Mechanic)
In 1952, physical educator Theofilos Klonaris choreographed O Choros tou Michanikou (The Dance of the Mechanic) to honor the island’s sponge diving heritage and the hardships endured by its divers. The lead dancer embodies a disabled former sponge diver, trembling and crippled by “the bends,” leaning heavily on his cane. But as the music slowly builds, he finds strength, discards his cane, and transforms the dance into one of resilience and pride. This performance is both a tribute to the divers’ perseverance and a protest that exposes the silent, often invisible toll their labor exacted.
Fysiological pressure
Decompression sickness, or “the bends,” occurs when a diver ascends too rapidly. Under pressure, gases (especially nitrogen) dissolve into the body’s tissues. If the ascent is too quick, these gases block blood vessels, inflame tissues, and disrupt the nervous system. This causes joint pain, paralysis, confusion, loss of vision, and can rupture the lungs.
Through the splitscreen format the film draws parallels between bodily pressure and economic pressure, and between the the sponge and the diver as both shaped by pressure: the sponge by environmental forces and human extraction, and the divers by the physiological strain of repeated deep dives.
Industrialization and capitalist expansion increased the pressure on divers to push their bodies to the limit in pursuit of higher yields. To meet the demand for sponges, they undertook long trips: eight-months during summer, and two-months during winter, diving many times per day. The sponge industry began to decline in the mid-20th century due to a combination of factors, including overfishing, outbreaks of sponge disease, and the introduction of synthetic sponges in the 1940s and 1950s.
O Choros tou Michanikou (The Dance of the Mechanic)
In 1952, physical educator Theofilos Klonaris choreographed O Choros tou Michanikou (The Dance of the Mechanic) to honor the island’s sponge diving heritage and the hardships endured by its divers. The lead dancer embodies a disabled former sponge diver, trembling and crippled by “the bends,” leaning heavily on his cane. But as the music slowly builds, he finds strength, discards his cane, and transforms the dance into one of resilience and pride. This performance is both a tribute to the divers’ perseverance and a protest that exposes the silent, often invisible toll their labor exacted.
Fysiological pressure
Decompression sickness, or “the bends,” occurs when a diver ascends too rapidly. Under pressure, gases (especially nitrogen) dissolve into the body’s tissues. If the ascent is too quick, these gases block blood vessels, inflame tissues, and disrupt the nervous system. This causes joint pain, paralysis, confusion, loss of vision, and can rupture the lungs.
Through the splitscreen format the film draws parallels between bodily pressure and economic pressure, and between the the sponge and the diver as both shaped by pressure: the sponge by environmental forces and human extraction, and the divers by the physiological strain of repeated deep dives.
stills
