ENTRY DESCRIPTION
The image is for a series of self-portraits visualizes my poem, "To Catch a Storm." The story is represented conceptually to invite the viewer to engage with the narrative. To achieve this, I attempted to erase my personal characteristics by using black clothes, a black mask, and a black background. All other objects are black except for the cloud, which is a clay sculpture. I chose the all-black concept because it aligns with the inspiration behind the story—a storm—and how it affects sunlight. As storms pass by in the middle of the day, their dark clouds tend to absorb the sunlight. But at the tail end of the storm, Miami's harsh sunlight coexists with this blackness. I sought to emulate this coexistence by juxtaposing the all-black setup with harsh artificial light.
"to catch a storm"
To be free, I thought I had to catch a storm.
To contain it, I fixed an old box.
I strapped it on my back.
I searched and didn't find the storm.
Instead, I stole a cloud and placed it inside the box.
Its fog was hiding tomorrow’s dawn.
To hide its light, I covered the box with a cloth.
Afraid of the dark, the cloud rebelled and tried to liberate the dawn.
The noise woke up the storm who told the wind of what I did.
I knew the wind would come for me.
When it arrived, I was ready to fight and surely win.
I fought and lost.
I lost to realize that to be free, I had to let the wind win.
AUTHOR
Yiorgos Michael is a self-taught visual artist and poet based in both Miami and Cyprus. He was born and raised in Cyprus and moved to the U.S. for his graduate studies. His work consists of photographic essays inspired by personal experiences and deal with themes like aging, identity, and social norms. These narratives fuse deliberately captured images with moments of serendipity, allowing unexpected elements to enhance the storytelling with surprise and discovery. This blend of intentional and spontaneous imagery juxtaposes the representational with the abstract, and the real with the mythical. The result is a compelling tension between ambiguity and clarity, drawing viewers into a deeper engagement with each narrative. The tension between the real and surreal is palpable in his poetry, where again personal experiences are woven into themes of aging, loneliness, loss, love, and hope. A distinctive feature of his work is the interplay between Greek, his native language, and English, adding layers of richness and complexity to his themes.
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