Eleni Vernadaki

During our recent visit to Martinos Antiques, we saw some of Eleni Vernadakis' early ceramics, made in the 1980s. Even though they are not really my cup of tea, it was fascinating seeing how Vernadaki's work progressed through the years. I love her later work and consider her to be one of my favourite ceramicists. You can see some of her later work here and here, and here and here

Wildfires around Athens

This morning , they found another twenty seven bodies in a field near Nea Makri, which is approximately 25 kilometres from Athens, all huddled up together, embracing. This brings the number of the dead from the fires that erupted yesterday to seventy so far.

The first thing we knew about the fires was from the drones of the firefighting helicopters above, as they flew to the sea to get water. The second thing was the cloud of smoke above that blocked the sun, creating an apocalyptic atmosphere, one we unfortunately know well, as this happens most summers and which always brings to mind The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. These fires this summer have unfortunately been much worse.  And the smell of course, which was overpowering. The cloud hovered over the whole of Athens, even though the fires were 25 kilometres and 54 kilometres away, respectively.

Were they wild fires or arson? We do not know. Arsonists do their dirty work every summer, in the knowledge that once woodland is burned it will make way for developers to build, most often illegally. This could very easily be prevented if the incompetent, inefficient and corrupt Greek state got its act together and prosecuted people who build illegally, as well as re-planting the areas that have been devastated by fire. But they do nothing. Last year they even went as far as offering those who had built illegally the option of making their illegal builds legal, in exchange for a sum of money. This is nothing short of collusion, and encourages arsonists.

There are no photographs in this blog post. I was too depressed about it all yesterday to use my camera, and I feel the same today. But, I had to somehow, express my anger and despair.

Sunset at Edem

A dramatic sky while we were having our evening meal in Edem the other night.

Vanessa Anastasopoulou

Martinos is one of the oldest and one of the most prestigious antiques dealer in Athens. Their collection includes a lot of early and late 20th century design classics. Recently they have started featuring contemporary ceramics and it was a real pleasure to discover Vanessa Anastasopoulou's ceramics.

I took some photos of the items as they were displayed on the deep shelves and I'm afraid that the photographs  came out yellow.

Some of the large plates had little bowls placed in the middle,

you can see the little bowl here on the side

and here, on its own.

Hyper Realities

Hyper Realities, Benjamin Von Wong,  at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), Athens.

A series of photographs by visual artist and photographer Benjamin Von Wong that focus on our excessive consumerism and our total lack of respect for the natural world, which, if continued at this rate, will eventually destroy our planet. The three topics presented in this exhibition are related to the environmental impact of the fashion industry, the disposal of electronic waste and the excessive use of plastic in our everyday lives. The captions that accompany the photographs give a very clear message about our folly and its disastrous consequences.

The exhibition includes a series of videos that show the research, design process and special effects used to create the photographs.

50% of the plastic we use, we use just once before throwing away. (450years.com)

By the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. (450years.com)

The average American will use 10,000 plastic bottles over the course of their life. (450years.com)

It takes 450 years for a single plastic bottle to degrade. Avoid plastics when you can. (450years.com)

70 million trees are cut down every year to produce clothing fibre. (clothingtheloop.org)

By 2030, 2.8 billion tons of CO will be released every year by the fashion industry. (clothingtheloop.org)

It takes 2700 L of water to produce just one cotton t-shirt. (clothingtheloop. org)

The clothing we wear has a hidden cost. We need to think about closing the loop. (clothingtheloop.org)

Every day 142,000 computers are thrown away in the US. (rethinkandrecycle,com)

There can be up to 800x more gold in the circuits we throw than found raw in the ground. (rethinkandrecycle.com)

Only 15% of electronic waste is recycled every single year. (rethinkandrecycle.com)

E-waste is the fastest growing municipal waste stream in the world. (rethinkandrecycle.com)

Flowers

Another imaginative display at Antonello, the theme being the harvest this time.

The large window on the left

and the smaller window on the right.

Detail on the floor of the large window

I do like these hens.





View of the shop as we enter

The large shelf on the right which always features orchids

and some lavender for this display.

Detail on the floor

The back wall