“Most of these images are landscapes with traces of human life or buildings and their interiors, which are gradually “taken” by nature,” says Marian Wai in “K” on the theme of her photo exhibition “The River of Time” at the Archaeological Museum of Nisyros.

The world-famous photographer and sculptor, whose work is often covered in the Scandinavian and English media (BBC, The Guardian, The Independent), decided to realize the exhibition, fascinated by landscapes, footprints of people, as well as old buildings that appear to fall apart. “For example, there is a brutalist hotel that was probably abandoned 10 years ago, nature “restored” it, and the traces of life that were there are now gone,” he explains.

“I wanted to shoot again with my old Hasselblad camera, which I hadn’t used for many years and had film in my fridge for about 20 years. I started walking around the island. I like to walk a lot, so I went with a tripod and a camera.” Photo shoots took place on Nisyros in the winter and early spring of 2018.

Some of the questions Vai asks viewers through his photographs are about their lives and dreams, the fate of their memories and history, when they pass away or when they die, and whether they are kept somewhere.

As the photographer notes, the exhibition was supposed to take place a little earlier, but there was a coronavirus pandemic. “Nonetheless, the process of repositioning the material was interesting. The people of Nisyros are delighted with the exhibition, as this is their place.”

At first glance, one senses the haunting, melancholy feeling they exude. “I feel melancholy. And because the film is old, sometimes the colors change, creating a special atmosphere. The place, when you walk through it, seems empty, haunted, a little scary,” he notes.

Life on the island

The artist spends a lot of time on Nisyros, where she settled almost unexpectedly. “My plan was to buy a house in the Norwegian mountains, but I didn’t have enough money. My group moved to Nisyros and I started to visit them, we found a small house that later became mine”, which he uses as a studio. “I come here in the winter and work for a few weeks. The island is very quiet, at first I feel a little lonely and bored, but then the mood becomes creative.”

She herself considers the island a source of inspiration for her work, “because it offers the necessary tranquility. I live in chaotic London all the time, so this is something different. It is an ancient place with many traces of time and history.”

“The River of Time”, August 1-19, 2022, Nisyros Archaeological Museum, Mandraki.