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BIOGRAPHY

Yiorgos Michael is a visual artist and poet. His work draws on the experience of being a first-generation immigrant—a condition of continual movement that amplifies the solitude of contemporary life and sharpens questions of identity, aging, and belonging. Within this framework, he explores what he describes as the fragile architecture of presence.

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Working at the intersection of post-documentary and conceptual photography, he constructs emotionally charged image sequences that blur the boundary between metaphor and memory. His practice combines portraiture, performance, and spatial symbolism, often staging quiet, resonant moments within transient or intimate environments—hotel rooms, thresholds, and unremarkable corners where solitude becomes theatrical.

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His visual language draws on the atmospheric subtlety of Pictorialism, the experimental abstraction of László Moholy-Nagy, the introspective emotionality of Francesca Woodman and Duane Michals, the diaristic sensitivity of André Kertész, and the oblique psychological framing of Sergio Larraín.

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In parallel with his visual work, Yiorgos writes bilingual poetry in Greek and English, echoing the same emotional, philosophical, and spatial concerns found in his photographs. Across both mediums, he investigates absence, fragmentation, ritual, and the tension between disappearance and visibility.

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Yiorgos currently lives and works between Cyprus and the United States.

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Awards and Recognitions

2026

 

2025

  • Black and White Spider Awards – 3rd Place – Honor of Distinction in Fine Art for "a torso, an arm, no head body"

  • Black and White Spider Awards – Honorable Mentions in Fine Art | "a beach" and "a body, a wall, no head"

  • European Photography Awards – Gold Winner – Some Place / Not Here / Still There, But Not

  • Annual Photography Awards (APA) – Honorable Mention – words, they stick

  • Praxis Photo Arts Center – Honorable Mentions – Motion Blur Group Exhibition and In Between Moments Group Exhibition

  • One Exposure Awards – Honorable Mention (Fine Art) and Nominee (Conceptual) – Some Place / Not Here / Still There, But Not

  • ND Awards – Honorable Mentions – words, they stick and Some Place / Not Here / Still There, But Not

 

2024

  • London International Creative Competition – Official Selection – to catch a storm, gray wall, and F3S 

  • International Photography Awards – Official Selection – One Shot: Searching for Peace – more peace

  • European Photography Awards – Platinum & Gold Winner – to catch a storm

  • ND Awards – Honorable Mention – to catch a storm

  • Black & White Spider Awards – Honorable Mention – to catch a storm

  • Monochrome Awards – Honorable Mentions – to catch a storm and gray wall

 

 2023

  • ND Awards – Honorable Mention – burnt

  • London International Creative Competition – Finalist – never a sound of building

  • International Photography Awards – Official Selection – never a sound of building

 

 2022

  • ND Awards – Honorable Mention – a gray wall


Exhibitions (selected group shows)​

  • Praxis Photo Arts Center, “Open Theme”, Minneapolis, 2026

  • Praxis Photo Arts Center, “In Between Moments” and “Motion Blur,” Minneapolis, 2025

  • Art Number 23, Design Festa Gallery, Tokyo, 2024

  • BBA Gallery, Berlin, 2024

  • D31 Gallery, UK (“Nostalgia”), 2022 x​

 

Workshops and Masterclasses​

 

Features and Media Mentions​

Contact Information: ymkollective@gmail.com

  • Instagram

All rights reserved. The copyright for any material published on this website is reserved. Any duplication or use of objects such as images, photos and texts is not permitted without Yiorgos Michael written agreement.

Website built by Isaac Azulay

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