Students' interviews - Christina Tsatsouli "Loss" Interview with Ypatia Kornarou - Moments Collective

Apr 29
3 min read

Author Ypatia Kornarou

1. What exactly is the photographic project “Loss” about?

Loss is a universal experience, yet deeply personal. It’s something we all go through many times in life, in different forms: the loss of loved ones, the loss of moments, even the loss of parts of ourselves. Across all these forms, what prevails is pain, negative thoughts, shadows, unspoken words, sadness, and photographs. Photographs have never carried so much pain.

Still, I believe that through art there is a space where expression becomes a bridge toward acceptance, and perhaps, ultimately, toward a kind of rebirth.

Students' interviews - Isidora Kountouri "Trauma" Interview with Ypatia Kornarou - Moments Collective

@Christina Tsatsouli

Meet our supporter https://www.athensvoice.gr/

2. As you said, photography may be a form of rebirth. But what else is photography for you? Have you ever wondered?

For me, photography is many things. It’s a second language through which I try to express myself. It’s a way of becoming aware of my emotions. It’s a search for the beauty in the world I live in, but also the creation of my own world, choosing each time what I include within my frame.

@Christina Tsatsouli

3. In art, we often search for ourselves through ourselves, and for others within our souls. Do you have something relevant to share? How does visual storytelling function in your photographic work?

In the project “Loss,” the search for the self through the self is not a conscious process, but something that emerges almost inevitably. Starting from the loss of loved ones, certain images were born out of an inner need to approach what is missing not as an event, but as a lingering sensation.

Loss is not depicted directly; it spreads through the in-between spaces, the gaps, what remains unspoken.

Visual storytelling works like a silent journey, built through fragments: shadows, a figure that seems to withdraw, details that carry traces of presence. There is no beginning, middle, or end in the traditional sense. I use light, shadow, and composition to create a sense of fragile balance, like something that could disappear at any moment.

@Christina Tsatsouli

Meet our grand sponsor https://www.fujifilm.gr/

4. Your love for cinema, what kind of stimuli has it given you, and how has it influenced your photographic expression?

Cinema is an ongoing study of light, composition, and the power of storytelling. Filmmakers like David Lynch and Andrei Tarkovsky have influenced me on an atmospheric level.

Lynch showed us how to capture the uncanny, how to seek mystery beneath the surface of the ordinary. From Tarkovsky, we learned the value of patience, that photography can be a form of prayer and contemplation.

These influences have shaped my attitude: I try to avoid the obvious and leave space for silence.

@Christina Tsatsouli

5. There is a “sense of mystery” in your photographs. Is this a conscious visual choice? Would you like to talk about it?

The sense of mystery is not something I set as a goal from the beginning; it’s something that emerges through the process. Perhaps because loss itself is never fully understood, and many things remain unresolved.

What interests me more is leaving space rather than explaining, creating images that don’t “close,” but remain open to multiple interpretations.

@Christina Tsatsouli

Meet our supporter https://www.hau.gr/

6. Is there an image beyond the photographic frame? Does it surprise you when you realize it?

I believe there is always an image beyond the photographic frame. Every photograph is both an act of exclusion and revelation. What remains outside the frame does not cease to exist; on the contrary, it often intensifies what we do see.

This doesn’t surprise me, but it continually occupies my thoughts. It’s an awareness that keeps returning, that every image carries an absence.