The Darkest Hours - The Pack of Flamingos

Concept

This is a self-portrait I made during the second and biggest Covid-19 lockdown that is happening right now in my country, Greece.

From my earliest childhood I showed interest towards art, and especially for Renaissance art. I always worshipped the Great Masters such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Albrecht Dürer, Caravaggio and many more. It was fascinating that they could paint a world that was so much prettier than the real World.

When I started studying Photography and learned even more about Art History and those Great Masters I wanted to copy them, create a Photograph that would look like a renaissance painting, with high contrast ‘Chiaroscuro’, lots of details, individuals and hidden symbolisms, dramatic poses e.t.c.
But I couldnt find the proper number of people to create such a big artwork, so I started experimenting with myself, ‘cloning’ myself, creating multiple characters with different personalities… and it worked.

After 3 years of experimentation and testing I was ready to create my biggest artwork
‘The Gathering of the Dandies’.
It took me a month of preperation and a total of 15 days of photographing to create it.

‘The Gathering of the Dandies’ mostly consists of moments that I miss during the harsh 6 months of the Covid-19 lockdown. Simple moments such as going out with friends and family, going at bar, chatting, drinking and eating together, going to a concert, talking about the newest movie or video game.
Ordinary things that ordinary people do.