Around the Line

Edition / 200 copies
Hard Cover / Clothbound
Language: English / Greek
Pages: 104
Size: 21x27cm

Around the line, is a long term project that refers to the constantly changing landscape, provincial or natural, around the national highway as well as on the surrounding regional roads and in the nearby settlements and villages, connecting Athens and Thessaloniki.

Structural works, whether complete or not, arbitrary interventions, and makeshift constructions of indeterminate use, constitute an environment characterized by two main features. On the one hand, the constant transformation of the landscape, either due to human interventions or simply as nature decides, and on the other hand, the randomness with which these things occur. Abandoned restaurants, ruined nightclubs and small gas stations bear witness to the domestic changes that have occurred, and continue to do, on a social and cultural level. Service stations for motorists that exist along the national highway at designated points now play the role of a city mall, replacing the much smaller and scattered stores along the road that used to serve passing drivers, while the abandonment of provincial, large nightclubs reveals both a change in the way of entertainment and the tourist desertification that has taken place in a large part of the province.

The new form taken by the highway with the completion of infrastructure works did not significantly shorten the distance in kilometers. It made it safer, more comfortable, and faster, but perhaps also dull and boring, as safety implies less life on the road. A standardized route, whether in terms of the landscape or the overall provided experience, which gradually became unfriendly to the attempt of a road trip, shifting the focus solely on the destination and not the journey itself, merely assisting the drivers in moving from one area to another. For that reason, my random stops on the road were largely replaced by pre-planned ones. Exploring areas around the highway became a more complex and time-consuming process, with the drive often lasting up to twelve hours—meaning as long as there was natural light. Using Google Maps became an essential tool for smoother navigation, and I often found myself spending hours in Street View mode, cross-referencing my notes to prepare for a trip, calculating routes, and estimating the time each part of the journey would require.

Around the line, was exhibited at the Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale 2021 as part of the Provinces platform, at the Photopolis Agrinio Photo Festival 2023 and at Athens Photo Festival 2024, as part of the Satellite program. In 2023 it was self-published in a hard cover book of 200 copies.