Here We Are

Here We Are is an anthology of Panos Kokkinias’ widely exhibited fine-art photography, from 1994 through 2007. The monograph consists of four sections, each representing different bodies of work linked by a common theme: Kokkinias’ personal, ongoing obsession with existential subject matter.

‧ Home (1994-1995), was produced during a difficult personal period for Kokkinias, marked by an eating disorder. To help overcome his troubles, Kokkinias turned the camera onto himself. Gradually his physical presence in the pictures gave way to surrogates for his psychological state.

‧ Interiors (1995-1996), contains depictions of uncommon and unfamiliar interior spaces with the apparition of haunting human figures. Seen from a distance, the subjects are trapped, wandering, and lost, without an apparent escape.

‧ In Landscapes (1996-2001), beneath an omnipresent lens, distant figures roam the countryside with urban neuroses in tow, underscoring their remove from nature and the world around them.

‧ Here We Are (2001-2007), the closing section of the book, examines photography’s capacity to consider the existential condition.

Panos Kokkinias was born in 1965 in Athens, Greece. He studied photography at the School of Visual Arts, and then at Yale University, where he received his MFA in 1996. He earned a PhD in Photography in 2009 from Derby University, Great Britain. The recipient of grants from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation and Yale University, among others, Kokkinias has exhibited his work worldwide, including shows in Athens, Paris, and New York. His photographs have been published in Vitamin Ph: New Perspectives in Photography, (Phaidon Press, 2006) and in Panos Kokkinias (Galerie Xippas, 2004). He lives and works in Athens.

Regis Durand has worked alternatively in the academic and art worlds. A University Professor, he has also written extensively on photography and contemporary art, and curated many exhibitions. He was artistic director of the Printemps de Cahors (1992–1996), Director of the Centre national de la photographie in Paris (1996–2003), and Director of the Jeu de Paume, Paris (2003–2006). Now an independent curator and consultant, he has recently been appointed Director of the Printemps de Septembre a Toulouse.