ARTIST STATEMENT : “Photography and Reality”
Photography has taught me to question what reality is, where it is and if it exists. I gave up quite early on the illusion that I was photographing reality. So I began to study the frame, with the aim of understanding the content.
Infinite conclusions, sometimes I turned them inside and sometimes outside. In the process, I realized that whatever I allowed to enter into my field of vision was the “signifier” of my existence.
The composition of a photograph is all that is absent or present in the photographer’s soul at the moment of the “click”. An image cannot exist if it has nothing to say and the photographer exists because she has images to “say”.
But there is a little deception at play here on the part of photography: “promising us reality”, that is, just as it happens in the deceptive part of love: “it promises us the ideal”.
The photographer does not use words, she has frames for communication. She does not own reality, not even her reality, but it is certainly contained in what she captures with her camera. Every photograph is a search, only the dive happens mainly in the unconscious.
BIO
Ypatia Kornarou is a photographer and curator based in Athens. She has studied economics and photography. She has been dealing with fine art photography since her beginnings in the photographic world.
Her first solo exhibition “Save the Forest” was held at the Environment Museum of Stymphalia and was transferred, following an invitation of the Hellenic Photographic Society of Mytilene, to the Archaeological Site-Castle of Mytilene. At the Papagos-Holargos Town Hall she has held the exhibition “Freud’s Dreams”. In May 2024, at TAF the art foundation, she participated in the dyadic photography exhibition “Forsaken Places”.
Additionally, in 2024 she held her first solo exhibition abroad, in Russia. Her photographic work “Phenomenon” was exhibited by invitation at the Gallery Space Place and was subsequently transferred to the Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts.
In Greece, she has participated in numerous group exhibitions (Photopolis Agrinio Photo Festival, Corinth Exposed Photography Festival, among others). Her most recent participation was with the photographic work “Forsaken Places” in the group visual arts exhibition held at the Bodosakeio Building of the Athens Psychiatric Hospital (Dafni), titled “Second Chance”, curated by Panagiotis Pagkalos, based on an idea and coordination by Konstantinos Kantartzis, with organization and supervision by Vasiliki Giannouli.
In October 2025, her first photography book titled “MOOD” was published, the result of two years of research and systematic work.
Her works have also been exhibited in international group exhibitions in the heart of Europe, at major centers of art and culture: Venice (during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, MC2 Gallery & CREA Cantieri del Contemporaneo), Paris (Imagenation Paris), London (RSL Royal Arts Over Sea), Edinburgh (Recount Photo, Agora – University of Edinburgh), Glasgow (Glasgow Gallery of Photography), Rome (Galleria dei Miracoli, Villa Al Tieri, Loosen Art Gallery Millepiani), and Budapest (House of Lucie).
She has participated with her works in Japan (Aichi Triennale International Art Festival), Serbia (Fotorama Festival, Kragujevac), and Africa, in Tunis, Tunisia (Recount Photo, Agora – University of Edinburgh).
Over the past two years, she has been an honorary guest of the International Photography Festival “Fotorama” held in Kragujevac, Serbia. At the first edition (2024), she presented her personal photographic work and conducted a masterclass with the participation of young photographers. At the second edition (2025), she took part in a group photography exhibition, presented her photography book “MOOD,” and conducted portfolio reviews for emerging photographers.
An important part of her photographic journey was the curation and organization of the group exhibition “Save The Water,” focusing on the qualitative and quantitative sufficiency of water, which was held at TAF – The Art Foundation in support of the Cultural Center of E.Y.D.A.P. Employees.
She also undertook the curation of the exhibitions and activities of the Photography Festival: “Days with Photography” in the European Capital of Culture Elefsina, on the theme “Conceptual Photography”. The festival was organized by the Elefsina Photography Club with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the 2023 European Capital of Culture Eleusis.
She also co-curated the International Photography Exhibition held at the Hellenic American Union in collaboration with the International Photographic Community “Moments Collective”.
In addition, she curated the group exhibition ” Human and Place Salamina” which was held at the Melanythros Art Space, organized by the Photography Club of Salamina and under the auspices and financial support of the Ministry of Culture.
In April 2025 she curated the presentation of photographic works at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) of the participants of the seminar “Artistic – Conceptual Photography” conducted in collaboration with the International Photographic Community “Moments Collective”.
In the last few years, she has been awarded and has received distinctions in major international competitions of the world photography scene (1st Place IPA 2024, Gold Winner Paris PX3 2024, Bronze Winner BIFA 2024, Silver Winner BIFA 2024, Finalist LICC 2024, Bronze Winner Paris PX3 2023, Honorable Mention Minimalist Photography 2024 & 2022, Editor’s Pick Lens Culture 2024 & 2023 & 2022, Honorable Mention Best Photography Awards 2023, Bronze Winner TIFA 2023, 2nd Place ROSL Photo 23, Honorable Mention BIFA & TIFA 2023, Top 10 Bruxelles Art Vue Winter 23).