A few days before my summer holidays started, I decided to submit my photos to some art festivals, hoping that I might have a chance to show my work. After all, taking part in an exhibition was one of my goals for this year, so I had to pursue it at some point. One of those submissions was the chocolate themed contest that I already talked about. By chance I happened upon the Kythera Photographic Encounters that had made a call for artists to submit their work for the 13th Young Greek Photographers exhibition. Apparently this is an event that has been held every year since 2002, but this was the first I heard about it. I decided to submit my portfolio, although I did not have high hopes for this.

I was wrong. A few days later I received a phone call informing me that some of my images were selected for the exhibition! My excitement was beyond words! I thought I didn’t have a chance, I almost didn’t submit and I was completely wrong! That proved to me that you should never say no to an opportunity, however slim you think your chances are. If I had decided that I was not good enough to submit, this would never have happened.

Kythera Photographic Encounters 2014

Kythera Photographic Encounters 2014

The event includes many photographic exhibitions and even a convention about photography in Greece, so it is going to be really interesting to attend! It will take place from the 25th until the 28th of September and one of the seven photographers participating in the Young Greek Photographers exhibition will be given an award and the opportunity to have a solo exhibition next year. Wow! For me this is a big win, even if I am not awarded, it is such a great honour and an amazing opportunity which I am very grateful for.

Happy autumn everyone! I’m back from my summer holidays and athough most people feel depressed this time of year – you know rainy days, going back to work/school – I find myself feeling full of excitement and positivity. It helps that I had some amazing news regarding my photography during the past few weeks.

I created this to enter a competition held by the Photography Center of Thessaloniki in collaboration with the Chocolate Factory and Museum that is opening its gates shortly in Thessaloniki. The theme was of course chocolate, which proved to be very difficult for me. I wanted to create an image that would fit my style and at the same time include chocolate somehow. I only had about five days for planning, shooting and editing, so I also had to keep it simple. I have to admit my head almost exploded from trying to come up with something suitable for me. If you look at my portfolio, you will probably understand why.

After rejecting a lot of ideas due to lack of time or suitable props, I finally decided to do my take on one of Magritte’s paintings, “the magician”. I tried to recreate the painting replacing the foods with chocolate and cookies and of course milk instead of wine! Magritte is probably my favorite artist of all times, I absolutely adore his works and I was fortunate enough to admire some of them when I visited Brussels a couple of years ago. He is a constant inspiration, so I thought why not pay my tribute to him in this way?

the magician, by Rene Magritte

the magician, by Rene Magritte

Last night I found out that the picture made it and will be displayed inside Thessaloniki’s chocolate factory from September 6th until March! This is the first time one of my images is part of an exhibition so I am enormously excited and proud! Also I feel very strange that so many people will be looking at my work, not to mention that I am clearly very recognizable in this picture!
Please follow my facebook page to stay up to date with all my news, because I have even more exciting things to share with you really soon!