The people in this series have known each other, and been neighbors and friends, literally their whole lives. They are some of the few remaining inhabitants of a large complex of apartment buildings that were built in Athens, Greece, in the 1930s, to house refugees from Asia Minor. As the years passed, most of the original inhabitants moved out and the buildings fell into disrepair. For many years now, the state has been trying to evict the few remaining inhabitants (even though they own their apartments) in order to demolish these buildings, which are nevertheless considered an architectural and historical monument. The reason is that the buildings were originally built on what used to be the outskirts of town decades ago, but has now become an extremely valuable piece of real estate, coveted by developers with political connections. The residents have fought and won successive lawsuits, all the way to the Supreme Court, and this has now created a stalemate: the state cannot evict them, but is at the same time blocking them from carrying out much-needed repairs, ironically on the pretext that any repairs would alter the character of an officially designated architectural monument. In this way the state is hoping to drive the tenants to despair and make them move out willingly. The people pictured, however, have no intention of doing so. They are extremely attached to their homes and say there is no way they will repeat their parentsâ?? history by becoming refugees once more.
Dimitri Mellos was born in Athens, Greece. He currently lives in NYC and is working toward completion of a PhD in psychology. He became seriously interested in photography in the last couple of years, and is hoping to eventually become a full-time professional photographer.
Website: www.dimitrimellos.com
Awards Fotovisura Grant, Finalist
Eddie Adams workshop XXV
Magnum Expression Award, Finalist
Fotoweek DC Fotobook competition, 1st place
International Fine Art Photography Awards, Juror Award of Merit
Renaissance Photography Prize, Finalist
American Photography 31, selected
Palm Springs Photo Festival slideshow contest, Winner
San Francisco Street Photography Festival, Finalist
Lensculture Street Photography Awards, Finalist
Magnum Photography Awards, Juror's Pick
