Where does alienation come from? The void of an antique tragedy? The bitter truth that home is far, far gone? The breakdowns in communication? The technological development that locks each of us in a box of algorithms? If we ever dare to trace its roots, we know one person who can show us the way – George Drivas. Welcome to his retrospection on CIFRA. This online exhibition is special for both the platform and the artist. It is the first time CIFRA is presenting a solo exhibition of such a renowned figure. And it is also the first time George Drivas has made so many of his works freely available online. Now you have the unique chance to experience such a broad spectrum of his art. George Drivas’s artistic journey explores the nuances of human existence through a cinematic lens. In this online exhibition, you can trace its evolution over more than two decades. Themes of alienation, loneliness, social integration, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships emerge and find their heroes—somewhere between stillness and movement, somewhere between times, where retro elements blend with futuristic landscapes, Drivas creates a universal realm. There, the melancholy is trapped. And cold modernist architecture becomes the stage for both drama and elegy. You feel like it is a safe space, as the story builds up slowly. And then… you are drawn into these fragmented narratives, left to fill the gaps yourself. Slowly, gently, the artist invites you to become a co-author of each story, as their beginnings and endings are left only to your imagination. Born in Athens, Drivas is a central figure in experimental video art, representing Greece at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017) and exhibiting globally. His works have earned numerous accolades, including a nomination for the Eye Art & Film Prize (2020) and Best Experimental Film at the London Greek Film Festival (2010). “Elsewhere begins here,” a quote by French philosopher Paul Virilio, is the name the artist gave to his solo exhibition. Anything can happen to anyone at any time. And all the stories you’ll meet in Drivas’s work are parts of something bigger. What – stays enigma. The artist gives you the freedom to piece together his stories. Yet, given this autonomy, we took a chance to ask the author: what should a viewer do before pressing play? And he answered simply: “Relax, and reflect. Think what if each work consisted of just a single frame? What story would unfold from it? Or what if each frame, each shot you see, was the last shot of the work?” Following this narration, we tried to find questions that could fit each of the presented works. Here, you can navigate through the list and choose where you want to start. Where does mystery end and reality begin? Closed Circuit, 2005 A noir-style story of crime and romance unfolds under constant surveillance. The narrative offers no closure, just uncertainty and illusion. Do we ever escape the cycles of history? Sequence Error, 2011 In a corporate world on the brink, leaders recite speeches from Che Guevara and Marshall. Power repeats itself—tragic, then farcical. Can we find refuge in distant worlds when our own collapses? Kepler, 2014 Inspired by the Earth-like planet Kepler-186f, this film imagines a sanctuary for humanity—and questions what we leave behind. How do we balance justice, fear, and hospitality? Laboratory of Dilemmas, 2017 A group of unknown cells appearing in the cell culture of a biological experiment, becomes the subject of moral conflict, echoing ancient tragedy and contemporary debate. What defines belonging in unfamiliar societies? Empirical Data 2.0, 2019 Based on a migrant’s real story, this work reflects on exclusion, assimilation, and the search for identity in a new land. How do we cope with the cycles of loss and renewal? Aeonium, 2020 In a quiet nursery, workers tend to restart their life after an unnamed catastrophe. The plants—silent symbols of resilience—speak for them. What if life is just a game, a simulation, or a mere illusion? Kaizo, 2023 A girl and a boy wander through a deserted town, as if seeking for something. It feels like a game with rules yet to be discovered. Are they looking for some answers, or just trying to escape reality? What happens when machines join our creative process? Incidents of a Finite Future, 2024 Created with AI tools like Runway and DALL·E, this work explores the blurred boundaries between human vision and algorithmic creation. It feels like through this retrospective, Drivas invites you into a dialogue—not to find fixed answers, but to ask better questions. Somewhere between ancient Greek clarity and contemporary fragmentation, his works ask you to step into the labyrinth to face your own grey zones. And as you finish reading this, the main question remains: how do we exactly understand things?