Visual artist Aristotle Roufanis is showing his work in New York this month, as part of The Photography Show presented by AIPAD with Momentum Fine Art Gallery.
The Greek-born artist who lived and works between Athens and London will present a selection of works from his critically acclaimed series, ‘Alone Together’, which is currently being exhibited at the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town.
Currently enrolled at University of the Arts London, Roufanis has always been fascinated by architecture, especially the patterns and sheer scale of large cities. For the past three years, he has been creating super-high-definition images of urban landscapes that give viewers an intimate look into the lives of city-dwellers and their loneliness.
The large composite images of this ongoing series are the result of dedicated observation. Roufanis photographs the cities he visits from dusk till dawn by setting up his equipment on a high-rise or hill, and patiently capture the city click-by-click over several hours.
The starting point for the project was the artist’s own experience as an expat in London a few years ago. He observed that people in big cities tend to feel isolated, which led him to further research the phenomenon of urban loneliness in modern societies, revealing a widespread issue often described as an epidemic – whether it be London, Paris, Hong Kong, Miami, or Athens.
He raises awareness about this epidemic of loneliness in his work by isolating only a few illuminated windows in each photo. But at the same time, he is spreading a hopeful message.
“The bigger the city, the lonelier we feel. It is important for people to understand that although lonely, they are not alone. Individuality does not equal to alienation,” says Roufanis.
‘Alone Together’ will be on show at Pier 94, New York City, US from 4-7 April, 2019 (preview on 3 April). For more on Aristotle Roufanis, visit https://aristotle.photography/
