OST: Research

City audio-guide, 35:35 mins, mp3 players and earphones

This fictional audio guide unfolds the lives of Thessalonikians, offering alternative ways to experience the city. It mixes fragmented narratives, elusive instructions, and poetic observations with melancholic and popular Israeli songs based on the Greek repertoire. Familiar and alienated at once, it captures the essence of a world left behind.

In English, OST stands for Original Sound Track. However, in German, it translates as 'East.' For Laufer, an Eastern soundtrack recalls the 'Mizrahi' musical genre, under which Greek music is classified. This genre combines elements from Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Arab world. 'East'—or 'Mizrah' in Hebrew—is the direction of prayer for European Jews and is symbolic of a longing for another place.

Created during an exchange program in Thessaloniki in 2015 and realized within the framework of Storefront Marketplace at the Contemporary Art Centre, Thessaloniki, it was presented during Diasporas, an art project by the Babylon Cultural Center, October 2015