Abstract The neoliberal capitalist nation-state, as a hegemonic structure, constructs its narrative by sidelining stories of resistance and refusal, relying on monumental aesthetics, grand gestures, and rigid binaries. Yet these suppressed narratives persist at the margins retaining their counter-hegemonic potential. They endure in acts of making, in the subtle gestures of political dissidents, in craft languages developed for survival under persecution, and in the material remnants of prison life dispersed at the edges of official archives. This raises the question: how can artistic research trace these minor gestures to recover and retell marginalised histories of resistance?
This paper examines how my artistic practice engages with the material culture and craft traditions of exiled citizens on Aegean islands during the Greek Civil War (1946–1950) aiming to revisit and reframe their overlooked histories. I explore how embroidery and carving function as quiet yet powerful modes of preservation and commemoration. Drawing on Mika Hannula’s notion of the small gesture and Erin Manning’s concept of the minor gesture, I consider how such practices disrupt dominant structures and suggest alternative political possibilities.
I argue that the collective, everyday development of craft practices in exile operated as resistance, survival, and documentation. Through my own process I learn and embody these traditional techniques, engaging in repetitive, hand-based making to sustain their language while re-contextualising it. These acts become methods of remembering, transmitting histories through embodied practice.
The repetition of these gestures produces a counter-narrative that honours enduring, everyday resistance. I conclude by proposing a fictional archive that foregrounds these subtle acts of defiance. By extending exile embroidery and carving practices, I construct a narrative of resilience rooted in quiet persistence, weaving connections between past, present, and future.