The video “The Things that Wish Me the Worst” is a short glimpse into the garden-life of my corona-time home. The objects that lay scattered in the dark come in and out of view of our voyeauring searchlight, balancing humour with otherworldliness and some of my most sincere worries.
This short video is part of my ongoing research on hate towards inanimate objects. By having the objects in my garden embody some of the things I stress about, I explore how our projections make us lash out on things that otherwise have no mind of their own. When we stub our toe on a table-leg
for instance, something compels us to get angry at that thing – as if it acted out against us, as if it was evil.

I find it interesting that this thing-frustration is so universally familiar. That any person you
share it with will immediately interpret this into you being cranky, silly, or otherwise emotional, even though you’re trying to convince them of an object's evil intent. Here also lies the situations’ humour, with its lightness balancing against the dramatic thing-frustrations.
In my work I usually explore this sort of subject as a social game. As someone with both the Greek and Dutch nationality, who moved a lot growing up, I’ve always been keen to explore social habits, their environments and the incongruities within them. This has been the common thread of projects like my collaboration with a snackbar owner, my guided tour of a garden-center, and my transformation into a loving host with a caravan hotel.

However, the times we live in called for a
more up and personal approach with some light tones of loneliness and isolation popping up in the narration. I believe it has suited my aim to show these hated objects in a well-rounded way, as they
speak from my garden.