Yorgos Lanthimos Unveils Photography Exhibition in Athens Ahead of Oscars
Athens, March 8 – Oscar-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos has taken a temporary break from his demanding film schedule to celebrate a different artistic passion: photography. The 52-year-old Greek director officially opened an exhibition of his photographic works in his native Athens on Friday, showcasing a collection of images captured over the last five years.
The exhibition, titled “Eros,” gathers 182 still photographs, presented in both color and black and white. Many of these images were taken during the production of his films, while wandering through movie sets and nearby neighborhoods, or during his visits back to Greece. The opening of the exhibition comes just days before Lanthimos is set to return to Hollywood for the Academy Awards ceremony on March 15.
Lanthimos’s latest film, “Bugonia,” has garnered significant critical acclaim, receiving four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Emma Stone. The film also secured nominations for Adapted Screenplay and Original Score. Notably, the photography exhibition features several portraits of Stone, a recurring star in Lanthimos’s cinematic works, all shot with a traditional film camera.
From Technical Foundation to Personal Expression
Speaking on Friday, Lanthimos expressed his satisfaction in exploring a different creative avenue. He explained that photography initially served as a technical foundation for his filmmaking endeavors but gradually evolved into a more personal form of expression.
“In film school you learn that cinema is basically 24 photographs per second,” Lanthimos stated. “So photography is where it all begins.” He added that working with still images provided a creative outlet distinct from the intricate processes involved in movie production.
“You can be alone with a camera, walking without having something specific in mind,” Lanthimos elaborated. “A photograph can have value on its own, but many photographs together can create another kind of value.”
The Immediacy of Photography vs. Cinema
For Lanthimos, photography offers a sense of immediacy that is often absent in the world of cinema. “You create something and almost immediately it exists,” he said, describing the process of shooting and developing film in a darkroom. “You can take a photograph, print it and hold it in your hands. That satisfaction is very direct.”
Despite his status as one of contemporary cinema’s most distinctive filmmakers, Lanthimos indicated that photography is poised to play an increasingly significant role in his creative life. He highlighted a unique aspect of photographs compared to movies: their ability to evolve long after their initial creation.
“You can present them in a book, in an exhibition, combine them in different ways,” Lanthimos noted. “There’s a freedom in photography that is very exciting.”
The exhibition is hosted at the Onassis Foundation in Athens and will run until May 17, offering the public a rare glimpse into the photographic world of the acclaimed director.
Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/lanthimos-turns-lens-on-photography-in-athens-exhibition/news/amp
