SANDMAN

During a long summer stay on the small isolated island of Gavdos, in 2016, I began making portraits of myself surrounded and engulfed by the landscape. It wasn’t something I had planned, and I didn’t have an explanation at the time of why I was doing it. I was walking around the island always carrying my camera. Most of the photographs were taken after the sunset, during the twilight hours, usually with long exposures. After I returned to my hometown, I realized that as I was far from home for the first time in my early adulthood, I started searching for my own identity, my longings, my fears. Searching for a personal meaning in the world, the existence and therefore my place in it. Being a young adult in the contemporary era is very confusing. These self-portraits represent a young person’s struggle with the pressure to find identity in society. A balance between innocence and maturity. “Sandman” is a metaphorical title inspired by the western myth of the lord who brings us dreams. This series is still in progress. I continue making self-portraits, as I feel it’s a mental and direct way to become more self-aware.