Saints: a project by Panos Kefalos
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n this early stages his goal was to capture the everyday life of the children that worked and played on the square. As they became close and spent more and more time together, Panos came to know their parents, their family and friends, and he was welcomed into their homes, adding a new crucial element for a deeper and more comprehensive exploration of their world. This new dimension of the work took him to the refugee building complex in Leoforos Alexandras, where most of them lived. Thanks to the trust they so generously showed him, Panos was able to witness closely many of the different sides of their hard life. Their life was really harsh, they faced a dangerous and taxing journey before reaching Greece, a journey during which they've usually lost all their possessions. Some of the kids had to work, selling sunflower seeds and bread in the streets: despite all that, many tried to find time to attend school. Most people had to go to the soup kitchen for food. They lived in old buildings downtown, buildings they rented in groups of many families. More rarely, some NGO was able to provide housing for them. Other families had to live on the street for a long time, or if they were luckier they'd become squatters or find a spot in a refugee camp.
When their acquaintance grew into a sincere and beautiful friendship, and their mutual trust grew with it, Panos was admitted to more intimate aspects of their private life, such as their relationship with religion, and he was invited to witness their religious observances and practices and their places of worship.
The last stage of the project took him to the Pedion tou Areos Park, where the homeless refugees were provided a provisional housing under very difficult conditions, during the refugee crisis of August 2015. Getting to know those people was the spark that caused old memories, images, fears to come back to life. This whole project is also a personal journey.
About the author:
Panos Kefalos was born in Athens in 1990. He has studied cinematography at the Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos and photography at I.E.K. AKMI. As a photographer he presented his first personal exhibition, "Entropia", in 2011. He has afterwards taken part in group exhibitions and he was selected in 2013 to be presented at the Athens Photo Festival in the Young Greek Photographers section. In 2014 he was shortlisted for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award. In November of 2012 he started his project "Saints" and it was completed in the end of 2015. In 2016, he published his first book, "Saints," supported by Fabrica. Saints got selected by Jurors' picks for the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2016.
HAPPY HOMELESS FAMILY
He became curious when he noticed that one of them was barefoot, even though it was late October. So, while he was approaching them, he understood that they may be gypsies: probably Romani or Sinti. Basically, two individuals that usually people do not want to meet to avoid being robbed or simply annoyed by.
He wasn’t sure what to do, to take some pictures or to go away? Probably because of his respect for underprivileged people, or because of his fear of facing and dealing with two young criminals, he decided not to take pictures and leave.
However, after just a few metres, he saw a scene that he absolutely couldn’t miss: a boy (the one with shoes) in front of him, staring at him and, in the background, a woman who was watching them both.
He got the camera and took a picture. Immediately his first thought was how to justify himself for what he had just done, he did not know whether to smile or to attack the boy verbally if he tried to bother him for the photo. But he actually had a wonderful surprise: the boy smiled and invited him to take more pictures of himself, his brother (the barefoot one) and the rest of his family. So, while he was shooting, he started talking to them, trying to figure out what they were doing there.
They started telling him about their caravan that got burnt down, and that for this reason they no longer had anywhere to live. Only then Elio realised that many parts of their bodies were burnt, and it became terribly evident when, in a corner, he saw their mother, whose nose was completely burnt and deformed. The following days he went back to that place and met other members of the family: a boy almost completely burnt, and a girl who had to walk on crutches.
Elio has wonderful memories of the family that, despite a turbulent life, has been able to laugh and smile with him. He met with them many times, but it has now been a while since he has seen them. He just wishes that everything is going well for the "happy homeless family".
About the author:
Elio Cremi was born in 1957. He lives and works in Rome (IT) as photographer. He has always been fascinated by people on the street, photographing since he was very young.
Homeless Faces in NYC
David Penner has published with F-Stop Magazine, Social Documentary.Net, and recently had his first solo show, Sacred Night, at the 1199 Bread and Roses Gallery in Midtown Manhattan. David is a member of ASMP, Aperture, and the Texas Photographic Society.