Zoe Gambieraki: "I wish all people could be ready and mature enough to share, because this is ultimately the experience of freedom and peace"
BPP: Who are you? And who are you really?
Zoe Gambieraki: I am a professional photographer based in
Athens, Greece and I am available to travel for work. I shoot commissioned
projects like portraits, theater events, weddings, christenings, family
moments, maternity and children, and also travel photos sometimes. Apart from
being my profession, for me photography is a way of life: a medium that ended
up becoming my way of exploring my emotions and of connecting with other
people. I define myself more as portrait photographer – one who focuses mainly
on the human presence and being - and I have always been deeply inspired by
artists such as Modigliani, Giacometti, Bacon, and Byzantine painters of
Saints, artists very obsessed with the human figure and being.
BPP: If you would say something important to
others who were listening what would tell them?
Zoe Gambieraki: I would tell them that happiness is to love
unconditionally, and it is important to express your feelings and thoughts,
beyond any fear.
BPP: If you had a chance to be a child again,
would you choose the same life?
Zoe Gambieraki: I was born in Sydney and 5 years later we
moved to Patmos, a small island in Greece where my parents are originally
from. I had a dedicated family which
gave me a lot of love, and I left Patmos at the age of 12. I used to miss a lot
what I had left behind: my parents and my brother, the nature, our beautiful
house with an ancient church near the sea and with a big garden full of the
flowers my mother cultivated with tenderness. Nostalgia became a mood that
characterized me. My childhood was complicated but in the end, I feel lucky to
have had the years spent by the sea as I experienced freedom when playing and
developed my imagination through my relationship with nature. Our children in
towns really miss out on this a lot. So this has deeply influenced my photography
and my soul.
BPP:
What is your true dream, the one that keeps you up at night and if one
day it were to come true you would feel peace and calmness in your heart?
Zoe Gambieraki: I do not have ambitions to keep me awake,
rather I think about how to be there for my son as he is growing up… In my
life, I want photography to be a bit like breathing, something very natural
which always lets me look at things with a fresh eye. We are going through a
very tough period of time which is having a tremendous influence on the new
generation. This moves me a lot more than a subject such as an exotic land or a
typical war. I would like to understand and follow the feelings of young people
through the medium of photography, exploring the thoughts and emotions of
adolescents in the contemporary era. Now there are more reasons than ever why
adolescence should be shrouded with an exploding mixture of misunderstanding,
pain, isolation, pathos, fear besides the big drive for life. There is
something very appealing to me there, even more so because my son will soon be
approaching this age …
BPP:
What is life currently for the people in your country and what would you
wish for them and for the planet at large?
Zoe Gambieraki: It is well known that we are facing the
consequences of the financial crisis. A lot of people have lost their jobs,
their dignity, their peace, or may work hard and not get paid. This is an
unfair game of course. However, for me
it is more of a moral problem for our lives:
We have certainly reached the point where we have to decide what kind of
life we want to live and defend for our children. I want to believe that this
will mark the beginning of a less materialistic world. I hope we adults can
make the right choices and fight for them with solidarity and an open mind.
BPP: What was the exact moment that you
realized what you wanted to do with your life? How did you feel at this very
moment?
Zoe Gambieraki: Ι was the kind of child that had strong
desires to express herself from very early on. Until the age of 14 I wanted to
be a painter or a designer. Finally, I studied sociology at Athens University
and I started working in advertising as a writer and creative director for some
years. During those years of my marketing career, I used to take photos, make
prints and have lessons with Platon Rivellis at the Photography Circle, where I
was a member for 10 years.
I was quite obsessed with making portraits of
people, and I started receiving commissioned projects of artistic subjects such
as theater work and portraits of young actors. I’ve published a small
monography “Siesta” and a book for a Project for the National Greek Theater
cooperating with other teams from Europe. After some years I finally focused
exclusively on what I love as a profession, but it was also a conscious
decision that this would be more creative for me.
BPP: Would you like to tell us something we
did not ask until now?
Zoe Gambieraki: I would like to take this opportunity to say
a few words about my wedding photography work also, which is very interesting
for me as it gives me the chance to be very close to people at such sensitive
and precious moments of their lives. It is so challenging to capture the strong
emotions and make powerful images which will remain forever to remind them of
their day of love. Besides this, it is very exciting to travel for this reason.
In any case, photography is for me a gift given by life which has enriched my
experience of sharing things with others and this is something I truly enjoy. I
wish all people could be ready and mature enough to share, because this is
ultimately the experience of freedom and peace.
Thank you Beautiful People Project…
If you want to find more about Zoe Gambieraki
you may visit her website :
or connect with her official page at Facebook
(Zoe Gambieraki )
Photos copyright © by Zoe Gambieraki. All rights reserved.
ALL CONTENT © ISMINI KARALI 2011 - 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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