Photographer John Perivolaris has created an enduring document of the pandemic, both personal and universal.
This book chronicles my passage through Glasgow, London, Genoa, Milan, and Athens during the ebb and flow of the 2020 – 2021 Coronavirus pandemic.
The wearing of protective masks is the visual motif that connects the overall series and, in a sense, makes those I have photographed citizens of the same city. The intention is to leave a trace of my personal experience of the pandemic as it has affected our shared lives in several European cities. The choice of cities followed the course of my own life during this period as I emerged from full lockdown on the island of Arran into cities that felt very different to my eye after a period of isolation.
As the opportunity has arisen I have made it my purpose to photograph the cities I know best, since these for me seem the most defamiliarised by the pandemic. In addition, Genoa introduced a historical resonance to the series, having been the first West European city to have been struck by bubonic plague in the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, Athens has always been for me a symbol of endurance against the odds, most recently due to the 2008 economic crisis.
The pandemic has affected all of us and all societies. In my case, this suite of photographs is dedicated to my mother, Adamantia Perivolaris (1935-2021), who passed away on 11 January 2021, due to complications arising from COVID – 19.
