TITLE: plateau

Situated at an altitude of 850m ASL on the island of Crete and surrounded by mountains, the Lassithi plateau is a place of sheer beauty. The remains of wind-pumps, are scattered all over the plateau. A ghost glimpse of the old glory when 13,000 of these white-sailed pumps dominated the view, producing power of over 5MW. This abandoned wind farm was created in the 50’s by the farmers wanting to irrigate the fields. Most of the plateau wind-pumps were active until the early 80’s when they were replaced by the hassle-free diesel pumps.

While driving through the maze of the dirt roads, we came across an enchanting land. For the next years, the plateau became a photographic fixation. Winters are harsh, cold and very humid, unlike the weather in the rest of Crete. Wondering among the fields, at the crack of dawn, we witnessed the plane turn to a theatre stage. The first light and often the mist, changes the old windmills into actors performing their own personal drama. Since we had never experienced the plateau former glory, we were intrigued by this strange post-agricultural scenery.

AUTHOR: Panos Charalampidis Mary Chairetaki (Greece)

Panos Charalampidis and Mary Chairetaki are a Greek photographic duo, living in Crete. They met in 2008, due to their mutual interest in photography. Mary was born in Heraklion, Crete. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic School of Patras and her MA degree in visual perception at Graphic Arts and Multimedia. She has been practicing painting since childhood and has always been fascinated by the ability of photography to combine realistic power and pictorial virtues. Panos was born in Mytilene, Lesvos. He studied physics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He holds a PhD in environmental engineering and he is specialized in the application of photographic technology to environmental science. He is intrigued by the potential of the medium to act as a research tool probing into problems, where traditional science seems to fail.

They investigate the world together, while evolving a common photographic vision. Their artistic work combines a strong personal perspective with that of documentary and conceptual-fictional practices. They like to be committed to long-term projects, immersing into their subject matter. They practice photography in order to understand. This procedure simultaneously serves -in parallel- their artistic expression. In 2016 they released the limited number, self-publication of their book"second chance". Their work has been exhibited in a number international festivals and online magazines.