Ελληνικά
Photography exhibition - Quarry: From the insides of Naxos to the light (2009)
In the context of our efforts to acquaint the inhabitants and the visitors of Naxos with the process of marble mining, we organised a photography project titled “Quarry: From the insides of Naxos to the light”, which resulted in a photography exhibition in the summer of 2009.
More specifically, from spring 2008 and up until mid-2009, photographers Vassily Bakalos1 and Michael Salis2 regularly visited our quarry and captured sights and moments of the works inside the quarry. This resulted in a large number of photographs that not only are of a high artistic value, but also constitute a dynamic recording of the conditions and the way of work in the quarry.
Based on the aforementioned photographic material, an exhibition titled: “Quarry: From the insides of Naxian to the light” was made, quite successfully, at the Cultural Centre of the Catholic Church of Naxos during July 4-15, 2009.
After our proposal, both the “Agios Georgios” association of Kynidaros descendants of Athens and the Cultural Organisation of the Naxos Municipality agreed to participate as co-organisers. Furthermore, the marble processing company “Kontopidis Sons” and the technical office “Pantelis Moskofoglou and Associates Consultant Engineers” were the exhibition sponsors.
This exhibition was yet another opportunity to approach and inform the public on aspects of marble mining and processing, but also to promote our village Kynidaros, where the island’s marble quarries are concentrated. Given that the exhibition took place in the heart of the summer tourist period, it aimed not only to the Naxian public, but also the island’s visitors, Greek and foreign, offering them an “insider’s” view of an important activity on the island.
If you want to see the photos from the exhibition click here.
1. Vassily Bakalos was born and raised on Naxos (1964). He has been working in photography since 1988. During 1991-1992, he attended the seminars of art photography at the “Athens Photo Circle” under photographer and professor Platon Rivellis. In 2003, he publishes his first photo album titled ”The Candle Processions” (an annual carnival happening organised by the Naxos Cinema Club 1995-2002) and a few moths later, his second one titled “Cyclades” (1998-2002). He has participated in many group and personal exhibitions in Greece and abroad, his last one (April 2009) being about the Western European capitals (2004-2008). The photographs shown in this exhibition are black and white and are presented for the first time.
For more information and projects, go to his personal web site.
2. Michael Salis was born in Athens in 1978 and started with photography in 2002. In September 2005 he started his studies at the university of Huddersfield, UK, where he initially studied Photography, Video and Digital Imaging and, later on, Contemporary Photographic Arts. He graduated in May 2008. His photographs in this exhibition are colour, are part of his diploma project and have been already shown in London in the context of his university’s exhibition of graduates’ works.
For more information and projects, go to his personal web site.