Yorgos Yatromanolakis lives and works between Athens and Crete. He works on long-term photographic projects and turns them into books, experimenting with storytelling, materials and design. He published three books, Roadblock to Normality, Not provided and The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings. He is co-founder of artist-run space Zoetrope, in Athens and contributor of Phases Magazine. His work appeared on numerous printed magazine: Unseen, Fisheye Magazine, Photobook Vol. 3, GUP Magazine, and online platforms such as The British Journal of Photography, LensCulture, Velvet Eyes.
Yatromanolakis’ work The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings achieved resounding success, being able to reflect on Greece’s turbulent recent history while maintaining a deeply personal approach and the outstanding care for details, tangible and figurative narrations. By embracing experimental techniques and opaque color palettes, the photographer displays the concept of finding light in the darkness.
About ‘The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings’ – words by Yorgos Yatromanolakis:
This series has been originated by the author’s unexpected return to his homeland and his stay there for four years. Isolated in the countryside of the island, he was constantly confronted with his traumatic past, his memories and himself. Gradually, through wandering in nature, a conceivable field of action was created within him, an intermediate space full of transformative dynamics, a place of becoming. These photographs are part of a personal notebook that was constructed through this experience, attempting to capture the cycle of an internal process of metamorphosis.
The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings has been published for the first time in 2018 with Void, an independent publisher with special consideration for contemporary photography. The book was sold out within a few months leading to the opportunity of re-publishing the work in a new hand-made edition.
The title of the project refers to the process of metamorphosis in some animal species, a space of deep changes that are necessary to keep living. The splitting of the chrysalis is a symbolic rebirth, a wish in a time of political depression for the country, and economic and ideological stalemate for the people.
