honorable mention
Yiorgos Michael united states
Photo © Yiorgos Michael
title
"to catch a storm"
In the visual essay, the story is depicted conceptually, using metaphor to invite viewers into the narrative. To erase my personal identity as the model, I wore black clothes and a black mask against a black background. All elements in the images are black, except for a clay sculpture of a cloud. The all-black concept mirrors a storm's effect on sunlight, where dark clouds absorb light, casting a shadow over everything below. However, at the storm's tail end, as the clouds move away, Miami's harsh sunlight breaks through, creating a coexistence of darkness and light. I aimed to reflect this by contrasting the black setup with intense artificial light.
The final image in the series contradicts the original intent of erasing myself. I struggled to decide which image should be the last, repeatedly choosing and then removing the shot where I'm not wearing the mask. Despite my efforts to exclude it, this image persisted. In the end, it became the last image, perhaps reflecting the contradictions in my life or the realization that there's no need to hide behind a mask. The image won, and I failed to adhere to my initial goal.
His photographic practice combines portraiture, performance, and spatial symbolism, often staging quiet, psychologically resonant moments within transient or intimate environments. His visual language draws on the atmospheric subtlety of Pictorialism, the experimental abstraction of László Moholy-Nagy, and the introspective emotionality of Francesca Woodman and Duane Michals.
In parallel with his visual work, Yiorgos writes bilingual poetry in Greek and English, echoing the same emotional, philosophical, and spatial concerns found in his photographs. Across both mediums, he investigates the unseen: absence, fragmentation, ritual, and the quiet struggle between disappearance and visibility.
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entry description
The current selection of images comes from a series that visualizes my original poem, "to catch a storm," inspired by Miami's hurricane season. I wrote the poem on a hot, humid, rainy Sunday while watching a storm at my apartment. Strong winds usually sent various objects flying, and on that day, a beaten-up poncho landed on my balcony. The wind dragged it back and forth until it became tangled in the railing. As I observed the trapped poncho, I thought, "someone fought and lost," which inspired the poem.In the visual essay, the story is depicted conceptually, using metaphor to invite viewers into the narrative. To erase my personal identity as the model, I wore black clothes and a black mask against a black background. All elements in the images are black, except for a clay sculpture of a cloud. The all-black concept mirrors a storm's effect on sunlight, where dark clouds absorb light, casting a shadow over everything below. However, at the storm's tail end, as the clouds move away, Miami's harsh sunlight breaks through, creating a coexistence of darkness and light. I aimed to reflect this by contrasting the black setup with intense artificial light.
The final image in the series contradicts the original intent of erasing myself. I struggled to decide which image should be the last, repeatedly choosing and then removing the shot where I'm not wearing the mask. Despite my efforts to exclude it, this image persisted. In the end, it became the last image, perhaps reflecting the contradictions in my life or the realization that there's no need to hide behind a mask. The image won, and I failed to adhere to my initial goal.
about the photographer
Yiorgos Michael is a self-taught visual artist and poet whose work explores themes of identity, aging, emotional constraint, and the fragile architecture of presence. Working at the intersection of post-documentary and conceptual photography, he constructs emotionally charged image sequences that blur the line between metaphor and memory.His photographic practice combines portraiture, performance, and spatial symbolism, often staging quiet, psychologically resonant moments within transient or intimate environments. His visual language draws on the atmospheric subtlety of Pictorialism, the experimental abstraction of László Moholy-Nagy, and the introspective emotionality of Francesca Woodman and Duane Michals.
In parallel with his visual work, Yiorgos writes bilingual poetry in Greek and English, echoing the same emotional, philosophical, and spatial concerns found in his photographs. Across both mediums, he investigates the unseen: absence, fragmentation, ritual, and the quiet struggle between disappearance and visibility.
back to gallery
