During October and November 2019, I have been undertaking a residency at Penumbra Foundation, NY. During the residency period I ran an Open Studio event and delivered a lecture at School of Visual Arts New York by invitation from Lyle Rexer.  On the 27th of November, the London Alternative Photography Collective presented my practice at the Science Museum London for the Art and Science Late event. 

This October I have been undertaking a residency at Lucy Art residency in Kavala, developing an in-depth research on tobacco. This residency has generously been supported by LAR, the I-Portunus programme as well as by the Kavala’s Tobacco Museum.  

The work I did during the residency includes a series of chlorophyll prints using images of worker’s hands in the processes of selecting, controlling and modifying nature to render it profitable, from the archives of Kavala’s Tobacco Museum.

I also worked with a newspaper from the 21st of April of 1967 (the coup d’état day from right-wing army officers in Greece and the beginning of the regime of the colonels) to reflect on the use of farming and nature to advance specific political agendas. The newspaper talks about the new regime and the new subventions farmers had access to. The military junta was initially mainly supported by farmers. I used the cyanotype process which is often seen as naive and organic, when it’s main legacy relates to photography’s early use to study, analyse, and rationalise nature.

During the residency, I visited a tobacco plantation where religious images seemed to be placed to protect the product. Being farming an extremely tough business where one might be at the mercy of outside forces such as market fluctuations or weather, I wasn’t surprised to see them. I decided to do a perfume with Kavala’s tobacco leaves on an edition of 33 bottles of 2ml to reflect on subjective appreciations of value and worth.

Below some images of the final pieces produced as well as of the production process.

I am very pleased to be selected for the Bow Open Show curated by Carey Young. Exhibition runs from September 27 to December 15. 

• Opening Hours: Tue-Sun, 10am-5pm. 
• Private View: Thursday, September 26 at 18:00 
• Public talk: Saturday 28th of September.

 Reed more on this link

This month I am running a cyanotype workshop at the South London Gallery. the workshop will take place at the SLG new Fire Station building which has a fantastic space for workshops.  See more info on this link. 

I am very happy to share that SPAIN arts & culture, the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in USA, will be covering my transport and accommodation expenses while I’ll be in NY benefiting from Penumbra Foundation professional development programme.  Read more about SPAIN arts and culture and Penumbra Foundation by clicking on the links.