2024
Metallic chromogenic print
Image size: 850 x 570 mm (h x w)
Edition of 1 (+ an artist’s proof)
In Greeks, I explore the overlap between generation, preservation and decay, using existing cultural materials from museum collections around the world to create new images. Through the lens of water, I delve into the concept of effacement—both literal and metaphorical. Effacement, the process of erasure or wearing away, is intrinsically linked to the damaged surfaces of historical sculptures that have weathered centuries of neglect, violence, and the passage of time. These once-vibrant works now stand fragmented, their features smoothed and distorted by the elements, revealing a new and imperfect beauty.
In this series, water becomes a central symbol, acting as both a force of creation and destruction. When photographed through water, my images mirror the life of these sculptures. Water shapes, wears down, and eventually transforms creating a new post-Hellenic/Classical beauty. This duality acknowledges the uncontrollable forces of history and the inevitability of time.
The images I create are, in essence, an interplay between these opposing forces. Using water to mediate these fragments, I reimagine them as evolving forms, caught between the generative and destructive powers that shape not only the material world but also the narrative of culture and identity. Through this process, I seek to capture a moment of delicate balance—between preservation and decay, between the known and the unseen. These photographs are not merely representations of ancient artifacts but meditations on the process of effacement itself, and the unresolved tension between destruction and renewal.
