Safe Haven

This is a series of portraits of aging ramshackle houses located behind an orphanage in Vouliagmeni, painted between 2023-25. Nestled between two very expensive and over-touristed beaches, this spot gives public access to a beautiful “free beach” with no organized lounges or umbrellas, something which is becoming ever more rare. The Greek church however, has sold the orphanage to developers, and the small shacks could be razed and the property there developed as well, limiting access to the beach. The clapboard shacks were built in the mid 20th century and given to families for use during the summer months, with each family allowed use only one time. The shacks were modified and added onto by new families every year, until the program ended around the year 2000. Since then, they were abandoned to the elements, and over the years covered with graffiti. The contrast of bright colored urban graffiti with local pines and greenery, with glimpses of the turquoise bays in the background, produces a visual excitement, evoking a fairy tale scenario.