Within Shadows of Memories

INTERVIEW

Within Shadows of Memories

Dimitra Dede

INTERVIEW

Within Shadows of Memories

20.07.2026

Dimitra Dede

Writer

Zahra Amiruddin

Ephemerality is a consistent thread winding its way through our existence. Even though it might be fleeting, sometimes it’s caught in glimpses of an artform. Its soft embrace leaves the viewer drenched in a transient state, pining for a love that isn’t necessarily their own. Greek born and London based visual artist Dimitra Dede, has a knack of stacking her memories into enchanting frames that are hauntingly evocative. With her two published books, Mayflies (2019) and Àpeiron (2022), the photographer tries to make sense of her subconscious, and in-turn allows us to ponder upon our own. We speak to her about experimenting with her negatives, building worlds from her archives, and the importance of instinct while creating art.

ZA :

When I look at your imagery, I feel like I have visited corners of your mind that you’ve invited the viewer into unknowingly. It’s so intimate and fragile, that I tend to caress it carefully. Do you think that your practice which creates worlds by experimenting with realities allows you to explore aspects of yourself?

DD :

Yes, it is exactly like that. There are multiple times that I take photographs without a particular purpose in mind, just because something seemed strange or interesting at the time. And much later, as I browse through my archives, certain emotions, feelings, and thoughts present themselves in front of me so distinctively. I suddenly see the sense in them. It’s one of the reasons I’m so drawn to photography, because it’s a way to explore my subconscious.

ZA :

With both ‘Mayflies,’ that explores the period of mourning after your mother’s passing and ‘Àpeiron,’ which questions the link between space and time, memory and displacement, loss and human vulnerability, life and the absurd; you bare your soul onto the pages with great intimacy. Was your romance with photography always this vulnerable?

DD :

There was always a magic within the artform that made me feel a release. After receiving my degree in photography in 1996, I worked for a period of 17 years at ERT, the public television in Greece. I was handling the photographic archives then, and was working with images dated as far back as 1896. There were glass plates and wet plate collodions, and photographs from World War 1 that really shook me. At the time, I didn’t lift my camera at all. I was in a state of denial because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make a living by exploring my own projects in Greece. But eventually, in 2014, I told myself that if I don’t start now, I never will, and I quit my job and started shooting again. I haven’t stopped since.

ZA :

You might have come across a plethora of interesting insights while browsing through the archives of one of the world’s most ancient civilisations. Could you recount a few, and do you think your time there had any bearing on your ways of seeing?

DD :

First and foremost, seeing the city of Athens in images from more than 100 years ago, was so surreal. But I think what really influenced me was that the negatives weren't always in the best condition. I had to navigate through numerous blotches, scratches, dust, and mould to reveal the image. I believe this has greatly influenced my aesthetic. While it wasn’t a conscious choice, it might have influenced my visual language.

ZA :

What I find so beautiful about your imagery, is that it feels like an extension of all your bodies of work combined. Do you end up shooting individually for each project? Or do you use your archives to build the narratives that you’re currently pondering upon?

DD :

I shoot, but rarely for a single project. At any given point of time I have two or three different projects/concepts in mind. So when the time is right, I source significant parts of my work from my archives. I have this practice - when I photograph something, I never end up seeing it until a long period of time has passed. I think that it is important to take time, so the images become devoid of emotion and I can have a clearer and more emotionally distant view of the work.

ZA :

What inspires you?

DD :

Literature, philosophy, and painting. For instance ‘The Scream’ (1893) by Edvard Munch has always been a reference.

ZA :

Since your practice is a combination of both, old and new forms of photography, would you be open to exploring the metaverse?

DD :

Absolutely, I would love to. I’m always curious about new experiences, and new technologies. I don’t think it’s wise to be stuck in the past.

This interview has been paraphrased with permission from the photographer.