The Splitting of the Chrysalis and the Slow Unfolding of the Wings was conceived during Greek photographer Yorgos Yatromanolakis’ unforeseen return to his homeland, where he subsequently resided for four years.
It illustrates a dark period in Yatromanolakis life, during which he sought to make sense of his personal narrative from a perspective of rebirth, transformation and reconstruction.
“Isolated in the countryside of the island, Ι was constantly confronted with my traumatic past, my memories and myself. Gradually, through wandering in nature, a conceivable field of action was created within me, an intermediate space full of transformative dynamics, a place of becoming. I surrendered to the fluidity of this space, to a paradoxical and cosmogenic ceremony. I was faced with the most enigmatic aspects of myself; I was searching for a new reality in which I would be able to exist.
These photographs are part of a notebook, constructed through this experience, attempting to capture the cycle of an internal process of metamorphosis.”
Yorgos Yatromanolakis lives and works between Athens and Crete. He has published three books, ‘Roadblock to Normality’ (2016), ‘Not Provided’ (2016) and ‘The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings’ (2018). He is also the co-founder of artist-run space ‘Zoetrope’, in Athens.
View more of his work on his website or Instagram.
