Photography

The Burdens of Atlas/Το Βαρος Του Ατλας

Mixed-media colage on 24 x 32 cm paper
By Angela Zafiris

For my latest collage titled ‘The Burdens of Atlas’ I used a photograph of a statue of Atlas that was in a shop window in a souvenir shop in Athens. I printed it using a laser jet printer and then I painted over the photo since it was a black and white photograph.  I wrote a poem inspired by the myth of Atlas with some inspriring words at the bottom.

We can all relate to the symbolism of of the Titan Atlas in Greek mythology. Atlas was condemned to carry the Uranus (sky) on his shoulders by Zeus when the Titans lost their battle against the Olympians.

When we walk down the street we see people who are not free. They walk with their guilt, anger, fear and other negative emotions on their backs. These emotions and feelings are weighing people down.  They feel heavy like Atlas. We all  must release these burdens from our backs and learn to love themselves so that they can love others.

 ATLAS

By: Angela Zafiris

With the burdens of a thousand years

Come down from the clouds

Walk on solid ground

Look to the sky once and a while

You walk alone with the burdens of a thousand

Years on your shoulders

Disappointments and regrets you must forget

You have lived, you have lived.

Webs And Petals-Αραχνες και Πεταλα

By Angela Zafiris

I recently tried to make some of my own potpourri, but something went wrong. I opened the air tight container, after a few days, and I found my rose petals covered in spider webs. A huge spider crawled out. I don’t know how it got in there. Perhaps it was in the container and I had not seen it before I closed it? I thought it looked strange and beautiful so I took  a photo. So glad that my potpourri experiment failed!

Street Angels/Αγγελοι Στο Δρομο

My Guardian Angel-Ο Φυλακας Αγγελος Μου

My Second Guardian Angel- Ο Δευτερος Φυλακας Αγγελος Μου

Twisted Street Tree-Στριμμενο Δεντρο Του Δρομου By: Angela Zafiris

These were some of my Athens street photos. I want to take more this week, but, according to the weatherman, the weather will not be in my favour this week… 😦

Full Moon Madness

By Angela Zafiris

By Angela Zafiris

What a disappointment! My ‘supermoon’ had been blocked by rainy clouds.  My plan to take a photograph of the moon was almost aborted when a few hours later the clouds dispersed. The whole sky did not clear but I did get some photos of the full moon.

It is a rare moon because the last time the moon was that big it was in March 1993-18 years ago. I don’t remember where I was or if I was aware of its appearance then. I was about thirteen years old, so I was probably busy doing my homework 😉

The next time we will see it will be in 2029. Some people are frightful of full moons. They believe that they cause catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis. It is odd that only a few days ago Japan was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami.   Today, the day of the ‘supermoon’s’ appearance, we are hearing of an upcoming war in Libya. Whether the full moon is to blame for people becoming more impatient, aggressive and war mongering  is open to discussion.  Astrologers are claiming that this moon will bring more catastrophes in the upcoming days. The only thing we can do then is to be cautious. We can’t say we were not warned.

The Longest Winter-Μακρης Χειμωνας

It’s the second week of March and the cold still lingers in Athens.  One night, the winds howled so furiously that I was kept awake throughout the night. The next day in the late afternoon it snowed!  By the time the layers of snowflakes rested on the green plants in my backyard it was already night fall. I hoped to take a nice photo with the sun shining on the snow, but it got too dark outside.  By the next afternoon the snow  had completely melted. I was lucky enough to get at least one shot of the snow flakes on a rosemary shrub.

The flowers that have blossomed on my plum tree are telling me that spring is almost here, but the new season does not brings any joy. How do we now welcome Spring after a long harsh winter? Do we forget the deaths caused by the winter storms in the U.S and Europe? What about the winter flooding in Brazil, Australia and Pakistan that caused deaths and left many people homeless. And how can we forget the catastrophic earthquake in New Zealand and now the Biblical catastrophe in Japan?  Would we be delusional be so welcoming of the new season when another catastrophe might be looming around the corner?

It has been prophesied in the Bible and other texts that events like these would happen. People don’t want to believe in the prophecies. They want to believe that they are Gods ruling the earth. But, clearly we do not rule the earth.  It can all end with a tidal wave, an earthquake or a fire.  Atlantis, according to Plato, was destroyed  in one day by floods.  It was a technologically advanced island, but the inhabitants had become greedy and arrogant.

Sound familiar?

Many people don’t believe that there was such a place, they see Atlantis as just a myth. But, as with many myths there is an underlying moral lesson. It is a ‘myth’ that warns future civilizations about the consequences of abusing power.

We have not adhered to the warning and now all we can do is prepare. Prepare for the worst.  So, grab and hold on to the tallest tree. Oh but there aren’t any-they have been burnt down. Well then, grab on to the traffic, and telephone poles when the floods come.

“One kind word can warm three winter months“.  ~Japanese Proverb