Exarcheia near Kallidromiou & Themistokleous Sts

In the spirit of all Athenians, having to begin to accept our fate and pretend like life goes on as normal while adapting, my friend stand-up comedian Dimitris Dimopoulos pretends to be trying to open his car a few days after a riot (which isn't really his car, thankfully).

The graffiti painting reads: "Whoever battles injustice should beware that they do not become unjust themselves".

The old Athenian atmosphere in Plaka

I took this photo after visiting the University of Indianapolis' cultural centre, which has a lovely balcony right over the Tower of the Winds, and stunning views of Athens in its crumbling ancient glory. I gave the image a sepia tint to portray the vintage aspect of Athens with its tourists stopping to sit in the shade and read their guide book while old men sit at a table nearby, raucously observing a game of tavli between their friends. Living in Athens today, scenes like this are rare; like many other aspects of the city that once practically defined it, they have been replaced by a fast-paced and impersonal, chaotic and high-stress modernity.

ONE HOUR

EARTH HOUR
2009





For ONE HOUR we unite in our hope, we unite
in our mutual confirmation that we too care about our planet, that we recognize how badly it has been abused and that we feel its pain and are ashamed to have not prevented it but will not make the same mistakes again in the present and future. One hour is certainly not enough to change the world; not is the hypocrisy of those who say but don't do, or those who do, but only to show others that they're doing. But it is very important that so many people around the planet are joining together to say "we're going to make a change." And telling their oil-thirtsty, irresponsible, greedy, war-mongering governments "PLEASE STOP DESTROYING OUR WORLD. BE RESPOSIBLE. SHOW RESPECT. We are ready to take things into our own hands but you can make the real change."

We can be aware, we can voice our awareness and share it with others, we can make all kinds of simple changes in our daily lifestyle that cost us nothing (in fact being eco-friendly usually saves money!) and offers the planet a lot - especially if we are all doing it together: turning off lights, plugs & electrical appliances when they are not being used, preferring bicycles, public transport or electric cars over diesel-run cars, recycling (practically everything can be recycled- question is, in Athens is recycling really carried out), seriously limiting or cutting out plastic bag use by having our own bags with us, at all times not pouring oil down the sink, never polluting places we visit by leaving our rubbish behind, and launching eco-intitiatives and promoting awareness wherever and whenever we can. I managed to bring a paper recycling bin and a general recycling bin to our workplace, a radioi station where a lot of newspapers, pages and pages of radio scripts, print outs, plastic water bottles & cans were thrown out daily; now around 60% of all that is recycled cause many times people have the conscience & can be bothered to make the eco-friendly effiort if you make it easier for them.

In ONE HOUR without light the world can change. You can fall in love, fall down, sip wine, sleep, walk in the forest, play in a kitchen, write a poem, dream, cry, run away, come home, forget, remember, swim, dance, breathe...

I started to notice the beauty of the things around me, in candlelight...SoI took my camera and photographed without a flash. After that I went to the rooftop with my guy and we observed the darkened city with hope & relief. People rteally made the effort to show they care. Some probably turned the occasion into a candle-lit party, an amusement - and why not? We saw a shooting star. It burnt long & bright enough for us to see it, doubt whether it was real (or a firework?) and then look at it long enough to confirm it was real enough to smilingly wish to. I found out quite a few Athenians, especially a group that walked up to Pnyx with candles and torches during that hour, saw it too. I'm sure many of us made the same wish. For a different kind of light to infuse our world - the light of life.

waiting

I was in the mood to use my camera instead of being consumed by frustrated boredom that comes with waiting for the train. I realized how if you stay still and just capture life without willing your ideas on it, it can choreograph itself.

Dreams and reality

The New Acropolis museum has a restaurant
where one can enjoy 
the most marvellous of views of the Parthenon, 
engagement ring of Athens in all its ancient glory.
Some say: Everything would be just divine
if there wasn't an old neoclassical building
standing obstinately in the way.


With an imperfect view, would you like to eat and stay?
To linger in a new museum that took so long to build
but that surely now that it exists, 
is not quite as it had willed?


I prefer to rest with the 'obstructing' building of old,
taking in the new museum and the stories I am told,
by one middle-aged building telling me about the ancient past
that has made its simple life neoclassically outlast
glass-cased and labeled commonality.

Walking along Dyonissiou Aeropagitou one afternoon I witnessed this filming made in protest of the then threat by the Acropolis Museum that this home, office and historical building was going to be torn down. I think the costumes worn by the actors is quite self-explanatory!

metro life doesn't have to be mundane

Just a night out when we were practical (and perhaps tipsy) enough to take the metro instead of getting stuck in traffic to get from one gig to another.

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