“An ideal, fantastic world exists within me that guides my instinct and intuition, and reflects upon my photography. My aim is to create a new reality, a world in which I invite the viewer to experience through my eyes and vision. I want to invoke feelings of safety and inspiration. To seek distraction, relief from reality, engage in fantasy - to escape.”
Lena Konstantakou’s ethereal photographs explore the intuitive connection between habitat, existence and wellbeing. With a body of work that has been shaped organically over time, Lena demonstrates a holistic approach to image making – the artist, her environment and the viewer all interconnected. Drawing upon the concept of ‘the ordinary,’ she captures imagery that signifies the importance of wonder, appreciation and serenity; a celebration of an ordinary life.
Within Lena’s golden-hued landscapes and enigmatic figures, the rustic details of the Mediterranean flora and fauna are used to investigate the possibility that somewhere between the borders of the urban and the natural exists a contemporary sublime. The camera becomes a spotlight on the ordinary, amplifying in opulent texture and detail the fleeting sights of everyday life that can easily go unnoticed.
Photographing in natural light and in colour, Lena intuitively seeks to capture colour cues that transmit emotional information. Green and yellow, predominant colours in her work, evoke feelings of optimism and peacefulness, whilst adding a dream-like aesthetic. This is achieved by striving to photograph before the sun sets, when the light is warm and soft. These ‘caught moments’, share qualities of still-life, capturing nature in a meditative fashion, inviting for subtle observation and allowing the viewer to make connections between elements.