Gomma Photography Grant 2021
The Hippocampus
Photographer
Eleni Onasoglou
The Hippocampus
29 Jan, 2022
The Hippocampus I loved the winters on the island. The waves, that died on the steep shores, the wind, that screamed through the trees. I believed I could control the rain, the storm, the darkness. Later on, death too. I always ran away from those I loved, I wanted my absence to hurt them. I was looking for pain. I opened the closet, I snuggled between the clothes, I closed the door and hid from life. Strange kid, they said. Years later I would learn why. Time, memory will fade away. The kid will be an unknown little girl on a rock. The island without emotion, without stories to tell. No picture, no scent will correspond to any emotion. If anyone ever tells me my story, if I see these pictures, I will exclaim, what a strange kid, but I will no longer remember, neither the child nor why. Hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for memory. Cells' degeneration in the hippocampus is been related to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. In mental illness, the Hippocampus shrinks.Â
About the photographer
Eleni Onasoglou
Eleni Onasoglou was born in Syros Island (Greece), where she lived during her early years. In 2008 she graduated with a scholarship from ESP school of photography. Today she lives and works as a photographer in Athens. Her work has been published in magazines from Greece and abroad, and presented in photography group exhibitions.«I was born in Syros Island (Greece), where I lived during my early years. In 2008 I graduated with a scholarship from ESP school of photography. Photography Presentations & Selected Group Exhibitions • Oct.2021: My work The Hippocampus is part of nine-screen video installation: “...when Icarus fell, it was spring†be hosted by the Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum • Sep.2021: My work The Hippocampus be featured in the screening program of FUTURES soirée part of the official program of the Tbilisi Photo Festival (TPF) • Sep.2021: Attend Futures Photography to HYBRIDS: Forging New Realities as Counter-Narrative at Melkweg Expo, in Amsterdam (NL) with my work The Hippocampus. • May.2021: Nominated by Tbilisi Photo Festival at Futures – Photograp • Sep.2018: My work presented at Tbilisi Photo Festival 2018 • June.2016: Presetation with THE GREEK LAB for TEMPS ZERO in Rome • June.2016: Presentation in the Benaki Museum • June.2016: Slideshow presentation with THE GREEK LAB for TEMPS ZERO in Rome • Apr.2016: “Seeing Through Photographs by The Museum of Modern Art on Coursera. Certificate earned on April 8, 2016†• Sep.2015: “The Blue Land†presentation of my work in Fotoistabul 2015 • May. 2015: “Home†Group Exhibition curated by Jacob Aue Sobol and Sun Hee Engelstoft in Delmar Gallery in Sydney • Jan. 2015: “Home†Group Exhibition curated by Jacob Aue Sobol and Sun Hee Engelstoft, at Casa Bianca, Thessaloniki, Greece. • Dec. 2014: Presentation by Platon Rivellis in the Benaki Museum at 138 Pireos Street, Athens, Greece. Director of Photography • Jul.2015: ‘Enheduanna – A Manifesto of Falling’ World Premiere of the first Live Brain-Computer Cinema Performance, CCA Glasgow • Dec. 2014: “Where Am I at Home?†at “The engine startsâ€, Thessaloniki, Greece. • Jul. 2014: “Where Am I at Home?†at “Festival Miden 2014â€, Kalamata, Greece."
