Pygmalion Karatzas
Architectural, Fine Art & Commercial Photography

LAMDA DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSE book, sample pages
published by Lamda Development, 2025
Editor in Chief: Fotis Tsimelas
Art Direction & Design: Parachute, Manos Daskalakis
Coordination: Zoi Kousaki
Print: Tipographic Arts
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer: Sissi Iliopoulou
Marketing director: Toula Matzorou

Interview for the exhibition 'Landmarks of connection'
6 June 2025

How did you approach photographing these landmarks, given the theme you were assigned? 
My approach was to explore and photograph these landmarks comprehensively. Taking the time to scout and discover each project. My assigned theme was ‘Shapes & Balance’. One doesn’t know beforehand where this theme might reveal itself. These features are central in architectural photography in general as well as in architectural design; and in that sense the approach felt organic and natural to me. Viewing and exploring a project through the photographic lens is a time-consuming process but one I enjoy every time. Looking for compositions and frames at different scales and angles, from details with telephoto-lens to wide-angle portraits of buildings to aerial points of view with drones. The theme ‘Shapes & balance’ can be found in all these scales. Even though this theme suggested an emphasis on the buildings themselves and other themes incorporated capturing human interactions in those spaces, I did incorporate in some of my images as well people in various activities using long exposure motion blur. In the post-processing and editing phase, I then started to isolate and group images based on the theme ‘shapes & balance’. Given the large scale of the buildings, the produced material was more than the required brief. The process of creating the draft layouts and pairing images together by the graphic designer, didn’t feel limiting, instead it felt an extra layer of interpretation and meaning added to the work. 

Which story would you like your images to tell?
Why only one?… The polysemy we ascribe to ‘landmarks of connection’ also exists in photography. 
One story could be self-referential. The story of the photographer’s gaze that is better expressed through images more than words. It captures and reveals glances and moments that we usually overlook in our fast-paced daily life, fleeting snapshots or iconic views; images that grouped differently can give a different story or they can stand alone as fine art works resonating to each subjective viewer differently. 
The story though that is more special and unique to me is the inspiring concept of the book itself. The perspective and interpretation of different photographers on the same projects. It’s a body of work we don’t often see, especially with such carefully crafted curation. I admire the work of the participating fellow photographers and I was delighted for our conversations during the project. I do hope people will enjoy this synergy. 
      
Was there a landmark that surprised you photographically, that revealed something unexpected?
The Athens Olympic Museum was one unexpected surprise to me. Somehow I had missed seeing this project before. Its interior design is different from the Golden Hall that houses it and for that reason I choose to approach it as a separate project with a full set of images. I found the interior & exhibition design to be superb.    
The Care Center for people with disabilities at Elliniko was another enjoyable surprise. The way they integrated the four municipalities together creates a pleasant layout and engaging communal spaces. Access is not open to the public, given the sensitive functions of the facility, but for the people who use the spaces daily it felt like a tranquil environment. The project was rich photographically both in architectural details, communal spaces, circulation and landscaping.     
Τhe Mediterranean Cosmos was also an interesting project to shoot. Chronologically the first in the portfolio, opened in 2005, and from the initial inquiry it gave the impression it would be a challenging project to capture. I am not a fun of postmodern architecture, but I approached it for what it is rather than what it is not. I spend one and a half day familiarizing myself with this large project and it was satisfactory to receive the exciting feedback from the curator after viewing the submitted material. The spacious circulation corridors of the mall, the atriums at different levels, the amphitheater, the plazas all gave plenty of opportunities to capture ‘connecting landmark’ elements and showcase ‘shapes & balance’ features. 
   
How did you experience the transformation of spaces from buildings to “connecting landmarks”?
Gordon Cullen’s ‘serial vision’ analysis on urban design emphasizes the importance of landmarks as a key element. Landmarks, in his research, have a visual connection and function. Here the concept of landmarks takes a broader experiential role. We, as photographers, use the visual connections to express or reveal the experiential ones. The shopping centers, their open spaces and plazas, the marina, the park at Elliniko, all have a plethora of landmarks, not only at the scale of the building but at various smaller scales within them. They gave many opportunities to observe such transformations. The photographer though cannot at the same time capture and experience them. Personally they left with me the desire to revisit them again with free time to experience with leisure.          

How do you perceive the concept of “connecting landmarks” in the contemporary urban environment?
It is ironic that the contemporary urban environment is becoming more enriched with a plethora of interconnecting landmarks qualitative and with emphasis on human scale, while at the same time people are becoming more and more addicted to virtual and prompt-generated worlds on the screens of their phones. With this disconcerting trend in mind, I would say that we can look at urban landmarks not only as points of connectivity but also as prolific spaces to meditate on such addictions and materialism.