The grass is greener on the other side

It’s been days since my daughter finally returned from the States. She thankfully skipped the stopover in Milan to collect some essentials. We spend the first days of the new virus outbreak in Athens, together. Government guidelines become strict rules. I photograph whatever I cook, the walls around me. I miss my daily activities. I wear a swimming suit and cap, and I stand before my lens. Bizarre. Self-portraits always made me uncomfortable. I go out in the garden. Between an almond blossom and an olive tree, in front of the fence, some things remain stagnant and others grow. Grass is one of them. A daily dialogue is sparked with my camera which transpires on social media. More than ever I feel the need to tell a story, to communicate thoughts and feelings through images that are current, allegorical, sarcastic. I watch as the reactions unfold. At the same time I pressantly think of tomorrow’s picture. This process eases the monotony of the quarantine. Everything appears static. Only the grass keeps growing. Literally, “the grass is greener on the other side (of the fence)” is a proverb. It’s commonly used to say that things other people possess or their situation, always look better than your own, even when they are not really so. In a period of a pandemic, where almost everyone on Earth faces the same threat equally, any form of vanity seems to fade. ‘You see, this is the world that looks so dangerous. It’s a toy, only deserved to be joked about!’ Sigmund Freud.