Oktaoro
“The sea carries away. The land holds firm.”
“The sea is nowhere to be seen.
And yet, it is there.
The iron ore extracted from the depths of Serifos left the island by sea, bound for industrial Europe. Between land and sea: human toil.
In this mine, darkness, stone, and dust carry the memory of a struggle. In 1916, the miners of Serifos rose up. Lives were lost. Their struggle secured the eight-hour working day. Here, the words “eight hours” are carved into the rock like the mark of a victory.
The sea remains invisible — just as the bodies, the exhaustion, and the human cost behind the ore that travelled so far were once invisible. The Seafaring Earth.
Flowers emerge from the darkness. They are a promise of what is to come, of a light that does not deny the darkness that was endured.
Twenty-one grams of soil from Serifos accompany the image — a tangible and symbolic trace of those whose lives became intertwined with this history.
Twenty-one grams: the weight of the soul.” – Vanna Karamaounas
- Original work, single print, 1/1
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70 x 100 cm
C-Print on Hahnemühle Paper - Shelf Corniche Vitra ronan et erwan bouroullec
- Vial containing 21 grams of soil from Mega Livadi
Vanna Karamaounas
Vanna Karamaounas
An internationally renowned artist whose work has been exhibited in numerous museums, Vanna Karamaounas, of Greek-Swiss origin, studied art history and political science at the University of Geneva.
Her passion for photography, which emerged in her adolescence, led her to undertake several study trips abroad, including stays in Athens, Rome, Moscow, New York, and Singapore. Upon her return to Geneva, she decided to dedicate herself fully to this art form. Humanity and its capacity to build and rebuild, contemporary socio-economic issues, and her family history, marked by the exodus during the Smyrna Catastrophe of 1922, form the foundational basis of Vanna Karamaounas's work.
Her work is included in numerous collections, private and public collections, including the FCAC (Geneva Contemporary Art Fund), the Cité Universitaire of Geneva, the Auer Ory Foundation for Photography, MAMCO (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art), MOMUS–Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, the Alpha Bank Art Collection (Greece), the National Bank of Greece, Banque Darier, Arcelor Luxembourg, etc.
Website: vannakaramaounas.com
