In this interview, we explore the journey of a passionate photographer Mike Economakis (M.E.) whose early fascination with black-and-white photographs shaped his artistic path. From childhood memories of his father sharing stories behind family images to his formal education in photography, he reflects on how life experiences and professional commitments led to a temporary pause in his artistic pursuits. Recently, he reignited his love for photography, embracing modern techniques and creating meaningful photo books that connect memories with present moments.
Among these endeavors is his project titled "Απέραντα Οικείο – Vastly Familiar." This project captures the essence of familiarity and connection in everyday life, inviting viewers to reflect on the spaces and moments that resonate deeply within them. Through this work, he aims to evoke emotions and memories, bridging the gap between personal experience and shared human connection.
“Vastly Familiar”
When photographs become windows to memory
Moments Collective:
Mike, give us an insight into “Vastly Familiar.” Is it a photographic album, a diary, or a confession?
M.E.:
This book was born and structured around a duality: on one hand, the “vast” which implies timelessness, and on the other, the “familiar” which touches upon each person’s emotional world.
It is a self-ethnographic photographic work that travels through Greece in the 1970s, through images of daily life, abstract art, and historical memory. Within its pages, memories take form, moments become timeless, and photography becomes a bridge connecting then with now.
I attempt to touch those moments again, not to explain them, but to feel them as I did then, in their first breath.
Moments Collective:
Your book seems to balance between personal memory and collective history. Do you believe that photography can bridge the individual with the broader, the universal?
M.E.:
Memory is a malleable material. My work glides between eras, changing shape, transforming into something that, while it started as personal, ultimately belongs to everyone. The photographs speak of what changes yet remains the same. They do not simply document a time – that of Greece in the ’70s – but also the sensation of a transitional phase, from old to new. Looking at a child playing barefoot in an alley, two young people falling in love, or a grandmother bending over the fireplace with a lamp, you don’t just see a snapshot of the time. You see something that could exist in every year, in every place.
The book, along with the accompanying photo exhibition, is structured around three thematic sections, each narrating a distinct aspect:
Faces & Everyday Life – Genuine glimpses, spontaneous moments, expressions carrying the mark of another era.
Abstract Art & Symbolism – A more suggestive view, where the play of light and shadow, lines and forms leave room for imagination and personal interpretation.
Polytechnic 1975 – A powerful section with images from the second anniversary of the uprising. Documenting photographs that serve as monuments of resistance and collective memory.
Moments Collective:
In the book, you mentioned there is a section dedicated to the Polytechnic of 1975. What does this material mean to you, and what do you see in it today?
M.E.:
Those photographs do not simply capture a demonstration. They convey the intensity, the expressions of people, the feeling of an era where history was being written in the streets. When I look at them today, I feel that these images have not lost their power. They are symbols. The clenched fists, the slogans, the crowd… All of these compose a narrative that is not only about the past but continues to influence the present.
Therefore, these images are not just memories. They are also questions. What has changed since then? What remains the same?
Moments Collective:
A standout element in your book is the choice to preserve the wear and tear of the images as well as the handwritten comments. Why did you not opt for a “clean” representation?
M.E.:
Because wear is truth. The scratches, the marks, the small imperfections of the film are part of the photograph itself. If they disappear, they take away the life they carry with them. The work would lose its authenticity. Art is not always smooth and shiny. Sometimes, its beauty lies precisely in imperfection. The same goes for our memories. They are not sterilized but filled with scratches. Think of an old book with its yellowed pages. This does not make it any less valuable—in fact, quite the opposite.
Thus, these photographs are pieces of a living, breathing time.
Moments Collective:
The exhibition accompanying the release of the book promises to be more than a typical presentation. What can we expect?
M.E.:
The exhibition is not just a simple display of images on walls. It features a unique staging where the photographs "live." Visitors will not merely stand in front of them; they will move and feel the weight they carry, hear their silences. There is a theatricality in how the photographs are placed, as well as a conceptual-thematic grouping of them. At the same time, there will be images that were not included in the book, pieces of the same narrative that seek to find their place.
Moments Collective:
If you had to condense “Vastly Familiar” into one sentence, what would it be?
M.E.:
“A visual pilgrimage into memory, a slow wandering between the past and present, crafted from light, shadows, and whispers.”
Moments Collective:
Michalis, thank you very much for this vibrant and poetic discussion.
M.E.:
Thank you, and I hope that “Vastly Familiar” becomes a personal journey of memory for every visitor.
The exhibition and presentation of “Vastly Familiar” will take place on March 15, 2025, at 7 PM at iFocus Gallery.
The Gallerist and Curator Dora Lavazou curated the Photobook and the exhibition.
For more details visit iFocus Editions :
The Photographer
Mike Economakis identifies himself as a "lifelong amateur photographer," a lover of the moment, where light and shadows meet to create stories. He is a member of photographic groups and associations such as Moments_Collective, the Hellenic Photographic Society (ΕΦΕ), Image Sans Frontière (ISF), and the Photographic Club of Ilioupoli.
He has participated with his photographs in galleries and exhibitions both within and outside Greece, sharing his vision for photography that is not merely a document but deeply personal art. As he himself states:
"I photograph to resurrect the memories that time tries to erase. To give moments eternity, stripping them of their ephemeral nature."
The Moments Collective Team International Art Press @2025
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