the 'visitor' in athens- a morning in the city
Created for Food & Culture Event 'Greece', Studentenwerk Berlin
July 2017
Athens: 07:35. May 2017. The city awakens and the people start going about their daily business. Streets are being cleaned, vendors open their stores and offer their goods in the markets: fresh produce - fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and spices-, homeware, plants, devotional objects and souvenirs. Tourists and locals stroll or pace through the alleyways. Contemplating my double role as a local and a visitor at the same time, these photographs were taken during one morning visit to the city centre and emerged as an exploration of the streets, the markets and people. Taken just minutes apart, the images emerged continually focusing on the life and the rhythm of daily activities in the centre of Athens. From one stimulus to the next I also observed my own gaze, questioning whether it had changed through living elsewhere for many years. These pictures attempt to provide a lively and authentic image of the waking city. The movements of the people in the markets are captured in the moment, yet they reminded me of all other related social activities, the cooking and the joining of family and friends, that follow these morning moments.