ABOUT MY WORKS

In each of my works, I am the primary material, the sole actor, as well as the historian of the performance.  Each of my works consists of at least two images, identical but for the fact that I appear in the second and any subsequent images. I have always been inspired by old cinema, and for that reason, when possible, I gravitate toward producing my work in a larger-scale format that approaches the big screen of the cinema.  

I include myself in the images so that I can step into, experience and explore the spaces depicted in my images myself, and then document my performance in the space through photography. All of the spaces that I photograph were created for the purpose of human use and occupation, and my entrance into the frame represents the humanization of the space and allows me to express my specific interpretation of how the space might be experienced.  

In each case where I appear in the work, I try to melt into the worlds I portray, but, simultaneously, the insertion of me into the space also completely alters the meaning of the image of the unoccupied space.  I believe that the interpretation of the spaces that I invade changes completely through my presence.  I replace the viewer's interpretation of the image with my own.  I resume control and force the viewer to participate in the story that I am telling, reminding the viewer that interactivity is merely an illusion of control.  To understand my work, like any work of art, the viewer must suspend that illusion and surrender to my vision.

This is just as in everyday life, where we are forced to deal with constantly changing realities.  The entrance of any of us into a space creates a new reality.  And each new reality is different from any one that came before it, as no reality can be recreated identically a second time. 

I would also like to give credit to Anastasia Margaris for her important contribution to my work. Her direction of me and her eye in photographing the second (and any subsequent) images are essential to the work.

Spiros Margaris 2004

Photographic works

Silver Gelatin Print or C-prints face-mounted to Plexiglas using the Diasec process  or