The ‟in-between” element of the Europa and the Bull myth: responses by contemporary Greek artists (2002- 2018) to the myth’s politicisation by the EU

Challenging Legacies in Post-Colonial and Post-Socialist Notions of Place

Abstract

This paper presents a tripartite analysis of the political use of the Europa and the Bull myth in pro-European and Eurosceptical representations using the “in-between” concept. The “in-between” has long been used in philosophy and architecture and has been presented by Elizabeth Grosz (2001) within a broader context as an insightful tool for analysis. Here I use it to reveal the inner meanings of the myth and its political uses. First, I analyse how this concept of the “in-between” unfolds in two fundamental ideas of the myth, transformation (or metamorphosis) and transition (or transportation), signifying on a symbolic and political level a passage from one place/state of being to another, thus making it instrumental in shaping the political dynamic of the myth in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Secondly, I examine the role of this “in-between” concept in the process of the transformation of the myth from a cultural to a political one and in the use of the myth as such during times of European Union (EU) conflicts. Finally, I present artworks created by contemporary Greek artists in the years 2002-2018 as evidence of the above, setting their work on the international stage of artistic responses within the political arena.