Summary
- Patroklos Stellakis presents his solo exhibition ESOSTREFIA in Athens.
- The series uses black-and-white film and imperfection as expressive tools.
- Dora Lavazou curates the exhibition at iFocus Photo Gallery.
- It opens on November 21 at 18:30 and continues through November 25.
Event Details
Working with black-and-white film and images that embrace blur, Patroklos Stellakis presents “ESOSTREFIA” at Athens’ iFocus Photo Gallery from November 21 to 25, 2026.
Curated by Dora Lavazou, this solo exhibition steps away from the professional demand for technically flawless images and returns to a more personal question: what does a photograph reveal about the person behind the camera?
When imperfection becomes part of the photograph
In ESOSTREFIA, shadows often occupy more space than faces. Figures move through blurred frames, light disappears into dark surfaces, and urban details resemble fragments of memory. Soft focus and strong contrasts are not mistakes to be corrected later; they form part of the visual narrative.
The exhibition’s title points to the direction of this gaze: inward. Stellakis photographs the outside world while searching within it for traces of loneliness, desire, absence and lived experience. Six questions sit at the heart of the series: “Why? Who? Where? When? What if? What?” Rather than supplying ready-made answers, they offer starting points for the viewer.
Black-and-white film and the time between exposure and print
Stellakis chose a simple analogue camera and black-and-white film. Waiting for development and printing is not an inconvenience to eliminate: it gives the memory of the photographed moment time to change. By the time the photographer sees the frame, the moment of pressing the shutter has already receded.
His choice also resonates with a wider interest in film-based processes, reflected in events such as the 4th Analogue Photography Festival in Athens. In ESOSTREFIA, however, the analogue process is tied to the artist’s own pace, rather than nostalgia for equipment. The artist also states that none of the photographs in the series has been edited with artificial intelligence tools.
Curator Dora Lavazou describes the photographic act in this series as “a form of inner exploration”. Her work at the same gallery also includes the group exhibition “Women in Focus”.
Who is Patroklos Stellakis?
Patroklos Stellakis studied film and photography at the Stavrakos School and made two short films before pursuing a long career in professional photography. He worked with the Greek Sunday newspaper Kyriakatiki Eleftherotypia and its magazine Epsilon for 25 years, with photographs also published in numerous other magazines.
He has published the photobook “Adespotoi Dromoi / Stray Streets” and contributed photography to the book “Ase mou ti siopi sou”, published by Selas. He is also a camera collector. In ESOSTREFIA, that long relationship with photographic practice and history takes on a more intimate, personal dimension.
Where and when to visit ESOSTREFIA
The exhibition takes place at iFocus Photo Gallery, inside Stoa Opera at 57 Akadimias Street and 13 Ippokratous Street, Athens. The opening is on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 18:30, and the exhibition runs through Wednesday, November 25.
Opening hours: Saturday 18:30–22:00, Sunday 17:30–21:00, Monday 17:30–21:00, Tuesday 17:30–21:00, and Wednesday 18:00–21:00. For details, call +30 210 3647088 or consult the official iFocus announcement.
What we think
What appeals to us here is Stellakis’ refusal to make every frame look “correct”. Photographers know how easy it is to reject a shot when focus slips or a shadow covers the part we expected to see clearly. In this series, those decisions matter because they serve a consistent and personal body of work.
There is also something more compelling than the film itself: choosing not to see the result immediately. That distance between the event and the image can make you reconsider what you wanted to hold onto in the first place. Even for those of us who work entirely digitally, ESOSTREFIA is a reminder that spending more time with our own photographs can be a creative choice.
