SILENCE

ANTONIS GIAKOUMAKIS

// Antonis is from Chania, Crete, and he uses his camera to tell stories about life and art. This time he shared a series about the performance opening of a photo exhibition of the Greek photographer Renée Revah.

Antonis has been seriously involved in photography for close to 10 years and has participated in exhibitions and competitions with several distinctions. He is an active member of the Greek photography group “Photopia”. He is interested in taking us on trips that we did not expect to go through his photography.

“The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist.”

Ananda Coomaraswamy

What draws you to art?

“From the photography point of view, I would like to say that it is an inner need to express our feelings and relive images that often pass cinematically through our eyes or that are presented to us by chance suddenly. Using a superlative tone… to trap the time and to pass into immortality. … Photography is for me all that I do not want to forget in the moment I see it, in the place where I am, I move, I listen and I observe. It may not be objective, but it can be a constant reminder that the world is not what we see. It is creation, communication, storytelling. In other words, it is the undefinable and unclear that leads us to a personal approach to what we see, read or hear and try to analyze it without always succeeding!”

What impressed you most about the experience of photographing the performance at this exhibition?

“So I was there and I discovered in the faces of those people … soul, strength, courage, fighting spirit and such love for life, so that they continue to fight through so many adversities. I consider myself very lucky that this amazing and emotionally charged event met my lens!”

“σχεδία” (shedia) is the only Greek street magazine that is sold exclusively on the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki by homeless and unemployed people. It is a member of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP), which lists 122 street magazines in 41 countries, with 14,000 homeless, unemployed sellers and 6,000,000 international readers . These street papers are not sold in the usual press outlets, such as kiosks, but only on city streets by accredited sellers wearing a red vest. The sellers come from socially vulnerable populations: the homeless, the unemployed, and generally people who live below the poverty line.

On behalf of these fellow human beings, Renée Revah, a renowned Greek photographer and friend of Antonis made a photo exhibition of her underwater portraits in 2019 (“Silence – A Breath of Consciousness“), where a portion of the proceeds from photo sales was donated to underprivileged fellow human beings. Some of the community involved gave a performance at the exhibition opening together with other artists.

Antonis took the opportunity to photograph this opening performance, and his photos transmit the special atmosphere in the gallery that night.

Images may be cropped for layout. Click on the photos to see a larger version.