Who are bric-à-brac? Introduce yourselves!
Bric-à-Brac consists of Mrs. Bric and Mr. Brac. We are visual art designers, based in the district of Agia Triada.
How long you’ve been living here? Was it easy to adapt?
We live in Heraklion for about a year now. Before that we lived in London. Fitting in was relatively easy, almost natural, thanks to the extroversion and kindness of the locals.
What do you love and what do you hate about this city?
We love the city’s complex character, the musicians, the treats, its fruit and vegetables. We hate with passion the garbage, those who leave their garbage wherever, the visual and noise pollution, the wanna-be “knight riders” roaming the streets with loud engines and even louder sound systems.
If they asked you to undertake the rebranding of Heraklion, what would you do?
In any case, we would use the existing brand. It is one of the most beautiful Municipality brands. As for the rest, we wait for a call from the Municipality!
Which part of the city has potential to “evolve”, according to your opinion? How would you imagine it?
The Venetian walls, the city center and Agia Triada, where we live, all have great potential to develop. We are certain that there are many other places that we haven’t discovered yet. What we would like to see is more grit and assertiveness when it comes to projecting these locations, with the active and meaningful participation of local and international specialists (artists, designers, architects and conservation specialists) to better highlight important touristic points and services of the city. Furthermore, it is of outmost importance to expand the city’s presence on the web, including e-services, to really serve the citizens. At the same time it would be nice to provide useful information and instructions to these poor visitors wandering around the city center. This city could be transformed from a “passage-city” to a destination city, hospitable to both inhabitants and visitors.
You have lived in many places around the world. What is it that makes you say “we want to settle here”?
The promise of a place in constant mobility, where things change. In other words, the lack of restfulness.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
We have managed to juggle with 4 oranges.
Tell us a few words about your exhibition “Tatu Tabu”. What inspired you, and finally, what kind of stories do these bizarre, eerie creatures tell us?
The challenge for us was to manage to create something that would trigger people’s curiosity with the limited budget we had. We are glad that people seemed to enjoy the exhibition and supported it with their presence. What inspired us was our own perception and “translation” of the surrealism we live every day, by painting anthropomorphic hybrids as parodies of their own selves.
How do you experience “the crisis”?
With a critical mind, we like to think. You have to climb the tree if you want to eat the fruit. We believe that the crisis could become a chance to “correct” the mistakes of the past, up to a point and under some conditions.
How (and where) do you see your future?
Misty, on a planet 150.000.000 km away from earth.