Vassilis Rallatos (GR/US)

This project derives subjects from the straightforward documentation of everyday
urban scenes captured in the streets of San Francisco. A vibrant, full of life and
movement cityscape is photographically re-designed encapsulating the frenetic
city atmosphere.

The scenes I deal with are formally defi ned by a geometry-based arrangement of
space in an attempt to emphasize –and exaggerate– the visual tension between
the physical aspect of the scene and its plastic nature. A non-realistic, spatial and
narrative confusion is eventually generated revealing organized chaos in which
the urban elements relate to each other in an irrational way. Filtered through this
personal aesthetic, the seemingly ordinary becomes complex and ambiguous.

Complexity and ambiguity in this sense, defi ne an unconventional San Francisco:
a place where realism and abstraction co-exist. One may be solely attracted to
the documentary aspect of the project or one may be absorbed by its abstract
essence. In the midst, this place may be identifi ed as an alternative world subject
to both personal perception and interpretation of reality.