Petros Koublis recently introduced me to his series Vedema, and I thought the images were stunning. The project was commissioned by Vedema, a prestigious resort hotel on the Greek island of Santorini. Photographs from Koublis’ series decorate the rooms and exclusive suites of the resort and can today be seen around the hotel’s elegant spaces. Upon looking further into Koublis’ portfolio, I discovered more projects made of breathtaking images, each one depicting a magnificent aspect of the natural world and possessing a painterly, otherworldly quality. Of his work, Koublis says, “Nature has been the most powerful source of inspiration for me. Maybe even more than that. This is where we find our identity and somehow, as we realize ourselves as part of Her, this is where we are losing our identity as well.” I see this sentiment reflected in his many beautiful photographs.

I found the images in and statement for the series In Landscapes particularly notable. From the artist’s statement: The images of this project were made around the outskirts of Athens, less than 30 miles away from the heart of the capital. It is the area that surrounds the depressed city and all the millions of its citizens’ individual stories. Outside the invisible borders of the extended metropolitan area, in the land that lies past the edge of the city, time seems to move parallel but in a different density. There is an inevitable contrast between the two states, a parable manifested by the discreet mystery that trees seem to hide among their branches and seas among their waves. This is an alternate state in parallel time, where silence seems to carry inside it a waiting, patiently whispering a long forgotten language. I worked on a series of images that were aiming to express this undefined, mystical presence that wanders around these areas, a lost connection between us and a beauty that regardless of its obvious magnificence it always remains far, strange and unfamiliar, hidden behind an unreasonable mystery. For it’s not only nature, eventually it is beauty itself that has lost its intimate character, overtaken by the values of an artificial illusion that’s reflected through our collapsing cities.

Visit artist's site: petroskoublis.com

Posted January 21st, 2015