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From Ashes

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Fund the creation of new art & support local business, North Evia, Greece.
Death & Rebirth Photography Series

                                        Funding From Westmeath County Council supported this four day trip to Limni from Athens in September 21

What happened in North Evia, Greece?

The forest fires in northern Evia started in August 21 and raged for 10 days... The flames, were fueled by the worst heatwave in 30 years... The island lost one third of its forests in under two weeks, as a total of 508,000 acres of land burned. Now the whole of northern Evia must find a path to recovery... Now there is no forest, there is no work. Excerpts from Inside Climate News, Moira Lavelle, September, 2021.

How does your funding help?
Your donation will do two things. It will fund the creation of new photographic artworks set within the burnt landscapes. When these works are exhibited they will also raise awareness of what has happened here. Your contributions will also support local businesses. The day to day, living and transport expenses needed to complete the work will return into the hands of local residents. A large percentage of funds raised will be consciously re-circulated back into the local economy. Aishling will also run a local photography project.

Why does this work need to happen now?
It is important to return in Winter 2021 as the burnt forests are currently being cut down, and the trees are being repurposed as flood barriers. Floods, mud slides & soil erosion are a huge concern in the coming months and are already causing widespread damage on the east side of the island. This landscape is constantly changing and evolving, making it both important and visually dynamic to photograph at this time. Many people within the local communities have lost their livelihoods and now have little to no income. There is little trust for government supports and aid.

What is the plan of action?

Return to Limni Village, North Evia, Greece, using it as a base for as long as funding allows (ideally two trips, November & March). 

Create photography with self portrait characters. Images focus on themes of death, rebirth & renewal. (see below for project information).

Run a short series of free photography workshops engaging the community.

Support the community economically by renting accommodation and transport as well as purchasing all daily supplies locally.

Engage with the local community, recording interviews about their experiences.

Visit and engage with other surrounding communities.

Work with locals finding suitable locations.

Where will the work be seen?
Iceland (Jan 22) - Group Exhibition "Here" by FISL (Icelandic Contemporary Photography Association), Icelandic Photography Festival.
Greece (June 22) - Solo Exhibition, Environment Museum of Stymphalia, Corinth Exposed Photography Festival.

More about the Life Landscape Photography Series 2015 - 2021
These images form part of a long term project of life landscapes, working with vintage costumed characters, which are set in nature.  Here Aishling blends the genres of fine art landscape, and self-portraiture to her performance practice. To date these works have been created in Iceland, Ireland and Greece.




Not only do these landscapes of Evia serve to highlight the immense destruction which has happened here and in so many other places globally. They also provide direct visual reference to the extent of devastation that times of great transformation can often make, both within our inner & outer worlds.
 

Aishling has in the past worked with two different characters, a lady in black and a lady in white. She is now bringing a new character into the narrative, a lady in grey. This lady in grey was created, September 2021, when Aishling merged a white dress with ashes of a 2500 year old olive tree burned in Rovies, a village on Evia. This tree was commonly referred as the bride, and its husband and children where also destroyed in the fires and was likely a mother tree to the region.




About Aishling
Aishling Muller, an internationally celebrated fine art photographer & performance artist, works with themes of transition within our inner & outer worlds. Igniting spaces for reflection, she nurtures creativity & expansion of awareness through eclectic art installations, workshops & speaking engagements. She is inspired by the creative process as well as nature's rhythm, death, rebirth, and organic flow. Concerning herself with growth on individual, collective & environmental levels she presents audiences connection to the natural world & self-exploration. Working within the purity of nature, she has also documents subjects in process of change at the hand of man, nature & more recently climate. She is currently based in Ireland.








Organizer

Aishling Muller
Organizer
County Westmeath

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