Author: Angela Zafiris

Hello! I'm a Artist/Writer/Photographer who lives in Athens, Greece. I have many creative ways from writing, photography, collage art, mixed-media art and poetry. I love sharing my work with people from all over the world through my blog.

Athens In One Shot/H Αθήνα σε μία Φωτογραφία

The Bustling Monastiraki Square

If  there was a photograph that can encompass everything that a city has to offer, than this one would be it. Everything that someone would see in Athens is in this photograph, from the churches, the ruins, the many yellow cabs, motor bikes and of course all kinds of people.

Αν υπήρχε μία φωτογραφία η οποία μπορεί να περιλαμβάνει τα πάντα που εχει μια πόλη, τοτε αυτη θα ήταν. Κάθε πράγμα που θα δει κάποιος στην Αθήνα είναι σε αυτή τη φωτογραφία, από τις εκκλησίες, τα ερείπια, τα πολλά κίτρινα ταξί, μοτοσικλέτες και φυσικά όλους τους τύπους ανθρώπων.

The Agora of Athens/Η Αγορα Της Αθηνας

Creative Entrance at a Shop

Happy to Serve You! 

Bakery with heart-shaped chocolate cakes. Not for the diabetic.

Sign says ‘Small goods. Soft drinks and cigarettes’ Healthy stuff.

Colourful Chairs at Restaurant at Psirri

A basement shop that sells  Greek traditional clothing and footwear in Psirri

A Flea Market at Thiseio

Thousands of small business owners have had to close up their shops during the economic crisis in Greece.   Athenians can’t believe how  many ‘for rent’ signs they have seen on every shop window they happen to walk by. The hardest small businesses hit are the neighbourhood businesses just outside the city center. When a shop closes downtown a new one quickly opens because downtown Athens will always have its crowds of shoppers.  It’s a tourist area and there is a lot more to see and do than in any other area of Athens.   Many business owners have now realised that to survive they have to come up with an idea for a business that is s unique and creative and that people will really like and will want to come back to again.  Hundreds of  ‘souvlakia’ shops appeared like mushrooms and several months later those shops have had to close down.  How many ‘souvlakia’ can a person eat anyways? It’s not very healthy either.  Healthy eating is popular now and that is why frozen yogurt shops do well, but there are already enough of those now. The only positive thing about an economic crisis in that it can inspire people to be more creative. The competition is a lot more fierce now.  A new shop  cannot not be a carbon copy of a shop down the street.  The business should be unique and the business owners have to supply the people with the things that they really want.  Of course, it helps if  people (the customers) had  more money in their pockets too.

 

 

The Artsy Avenue/Ο καλλιτεχνικός λεωφόρος

Narrow street with couches on a tiny sidewalk from an outdoor café in Psirri

Open shutters of an old building

Row of lamp shades against a back drop of a run down building

Funky lamp shades and chandeliers light the street at night

Lamp shades in Psirri

Chandelier in the sky with crystals

How can a creative person like myself not take a few photographs of the quirky and creative neighbourhood called ‘Psirri’. Psirri is located in the downtown area of ancient Athens and is a well-known ‘artsy’ area with a shady reputation.  Many university students live there and they have made their presence known to visitors, an example would be the lamp shades and chandeliers hanging above the streets. They light the dark and narrow streets beautifully at night.  These photographs are just a glimpse of the offbeat quality of Psirri that you won’t find in other areas of Athens.

Dilapidated Homes/Ερειπωμένα Σπίτια

Abandoned home and ancient ruins below

No use in saving this one! Some scaffolding on a dilapidated home

Renovations on another home

Yo! Graffiti on shutters

Beautiful classical balcony

These are a few photographs that I took on a long walk toward the area of Thiseio in downtown Athens, Greece.  Athens is a great city for those who love ‘urbex photography‘ as the city has tons of abandoned buildings. Some are in the process of being renovated and others homes have occupants,  but they are very old and are not in the greatest condition.

The Glorious Past/Το Ένδοξο Παρελθόν

A statue of a Greek soldier staring at the Acropolis from below.

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

  –J.R.R. Tolkien

The Industrial Gas Museum/Βιομηχανικό Μουσείο Φωταερίου

In an earlier post, I wrote about the area of Technopolis which is located in the area of Gazi in Athens.  Technopolis is the site of the industrial gas works buildings that help to light up the city of Athens in the late 19th Century. I’ve added a few black and white photographs that I took from inside of the buildings that are now museums and are open to the public with an entry fee of a Euro.

Gas Temperature

Reflection of a Wheel

The Ovens Through The Tunnel

A Tunnel at The Museum

An Open Window

Old Coal Ovens

19th Century Gas Ovens

Top Level of Gas Museum

Outdoor Gas Pipes

Anti-design
Anti-design banner at Technopolis
Frames on floor
Tin cans used to make a work of art
Dining Table on the wall
Water holder
Lamps made with kitchenware
Cheese Graters as a lamp
picture holder
Wire armor

While at Technopolis at Gazi in Athens I decided to check out the  modern art exhibit inside one of the buildings.  The subject of the exhibit was ‘Anti-design’. Designers were asked to re-imagine and re- create household items i.e. lamps by using recycled material, and thus making the items more affordable for people in these harsh economic times.

Ενώ  ήμουν στην Τεχνόπολη στο Γκάζι , αποφάσισα να ριξω μια  ματιά σε μια συχρονη έκθεση τέχνης. . Το θέμα της έκθεσης ήταν «αντι–design». Οι σχεδιαστές κλήθηκαν να δημιουργήσουν είδη οικιακής χρήσης, δηλαδή λαμπτήρες, με τη χρήση ανακυκλωμένων υλικών, ετσι ωστε να ειναι η τιμη των αντικειμενων αυτων πιο προσιτη για τους περρισοτερους ανθρώπους σε αυτές τις δύσκολες οικονομικές περιόδους.

Technopolis/Τεχνόπολις

Technopolis is located in a trendy district of ‘Gazi’ with its many cafés and restaurants. Technopolis was the site of a gas factory that was built in 1867 by a French gas company. With this new innovation Athens was able to be lit at night like Paris.  The site didn’t have much character in its day as it was industrial and  it was considered a nuisance by the nearby inhabitants. In 1984,  after some protesting by the nearby inhabitants the gas factory shut down.   Years later,  the site was renovated and in 2013 it was open to the public.  Today,  Technopolis hosts many art exhibitions, fashion shows, and concerts and much more. Each building is dedicated to famous Greek poets and even opera singer Maria Callas has a building in her name.

Gasworks buildings and chimneys

Exterior of Gasworks building

Gasworks Pipes

Kiosk At Gasworks

Gas works building

Η Τεχνόπολις βρίσκεται σε μια μοντέρνα συνοικία «Γκάζι» με τα πολλά καφέ και εστιατόρια του. Η Τεχνόπολις ήταν η περιοχή του εργοστασίου φωταερίου, που χτίστηκε το 1867 από μια Γαλλική εταιρεία φωταερίου. Με αυτή τη νέα καινοτομία της Αθήνας ήταν σε θέση να φωτίζεται τη νύχτα, όπως το Παρίσι.  Τότε η τοποθεσία  δεν διέθετε κάποιο ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα καθώς ήταν βιομηχανική. Μετά από μερικά χρόνια  θεωρήθηκε ως μια ‘ενόχληση’ από τους γύρω κατοίκους . Το 1984, μετά από κάποια διαμαρτυρία από τους κατοίκους  της περιοχής, το εργοστάσιο του φωταερίου εκλείσε. Χρόνια αργότερα, ο χώρος ανακαινίστηκε και το 2013 ήταν ανοικτή για το κοινό. Σήμερα, η Τεχνόπολις φιλοξενεί πολλές εκθέσεις τέχνης, επιδείξεις μόδας, και συναυλίες και πολλά άλλα. Κάθε κτίριο είναι αφιερωμένο σε διάσημους Έλληνες ποιητές, ακόμα και η τραγουδίστρια της όπερας Μαρία Κάλλας έχει ένα κτίριο με το όνομά της.

Bewildered/H Σαστισμένη

“The Bewildered Woman’ mixed-media painting by Angela Zafiris

Just another mixed-media painting of a woman that I completed last week. I don’t know who she is, but I love her eyes. For the background  I used magazines texts and images and I painted over them with yellow and red acrylics. I added some dabs of gesso as well for texture.