Dark, sterile and dystopic at the same time, Greek artist George Drivas’s films depict a retro-futuristic life in an era of mass state surveillance that ends with unexpected results. Using the city and civic architecture as a stage, the films explore the possibilities of experiencing all facets of life, including falling in love, under such a regime. It also seems to use the architecture depicted as commentary on world utopian visions, in some respects.
Beta Test (2005)
In Beta Test (2005) 2 subjects, clinically named ‘Model #1’ and ‘Model #2’, taking part in a controlled experiment of sorts, are sent to different points in a city that’s almost empty, where they wander around and eventually meet each other. Viewers watch from the point of view of the controller, as the subtitles display the metadata, a log of the events and his thoughts about it.