Inspired by the origins of ancient Greek laments, I dwelled within traditional communities of the last female professional mourners inhabiting the Mani peninsula of Greece looking for traces of bereavement and grief. While most know this region for its breathtaking cliffs and quaint coastal villages, it also home to the dying art of professional mourning. The ageing of the village and the difficulties during the current economic woes besetting the country seem to be part of the reasons for its disappearance. The series aims at documenting and raising questions around this cultural loss.
Ioanna's work suggests a constructed space of fantasy and loss within the magical potential of transformation and fiction the camera allows. She has exhibited her work in three solo exhibitions and several photography festivals including Athens Photo Festival, Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival and Retina Scottish International Photography Festival among others. Her work Aidos was shortlisted for the Prix Levallois 2018 in France and Urbanautica Awards 2018. She was recently awarded with The Royal Photographic Society Postgraduate Bursary Award and nominated for the RBSA Photographic Prize in the UK
