Gomma Photography Grant 2023
Strawberry Blue
Photographer
Marinos Tsagkarakis
Strawberry Blue
22 Feb, 2024
Strawberry Blue portrays a sentimental journey through dark days to the pursuit of the sweetness of life. The need for this body of work emerged after migrating to a foreign country in the European North, leaving behind family, friends, memories, and routines. The transition to this new land traumatized me, literally and metaphorically, making me doubt myself, my life decisions, and the reasons for being here. Yet another ordinary story of migration and one which many people have experienced. This series explores and questions the inherent need for identity redefinition, belonging, and self-construction. The photographs were created in a park in the south of the place where I moved. For five years, I spent most of my evenings in this park, strolling around and observing the place, the animals, the trees, and the people around me. Strawberry Blue is my imaginary universe where I can feel like I belong somewhere again.
About the photographer
Marinos Tsagkarakis
Marinos Tsagkarakis is a Netherlands-based fine art photographer. He was born (1984) and raised on the island of Crete, Greece. After a Bachelor in Economic and Political Sciences (BEconSc), a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and a Master in Management Information Systems (MIS), he decided to continue his studies in Contemporary Photography and Visual Arts. He studied contemporary photography at the "Stereosis School of Photography”. Since 2014, he has been a member of the collective “Depression Era” that inhabits the urban and social landscape of the economic crisis in his home country. His work has been exhibited in numerous international festivals, including Mois De La Photo (Paris), Jeju Biennale (South Korea), Unseen (Amsterdam), Fotofilmic (L.A & Vancouver), Athens Photo Festival (Athens), Photo: Israel (Tel Aviv), and several museums and galleries across Europe, USA, and Asia. He has been featured in world-renowned media like Der Spiegel, L'Oeil de la Photographie, Collector Daily, Der Greif, Vogue, PHROOM, and Urbanautica Institute. In 2017, it was published his first (sold-out) monograph, "Paradise Inn," by Void. Part of his artwork belongs to international private and public collections. Since 2019, he has been represented by the Milan-based art gallery “OPR”.
