In a unique period of recent history, Athens presented the appearance of an abandoned city. An experience fresh in everyone's memory, as the first lockdown during the months of March – April 2020 became a shared reality and marked a turning point for everyone's daily lives.

Photographer Dionysia Alexiadis was in the center of Athens during those days of isolation and had the opportunity to photograph and capture the eerie appearance of the city. Her lens traveled from Syntagma Square to the Acropolis and from Thiseio to Omonia. Athens shines brightly in the Attic light. However, it is empty of residents, vehicles, and visitors. A city like a film set, an unrecognizable capital.

The photographs of Dionysia Alexiadis carry the value of a document. They capture those unique images of desolation and deliver them into the body of a shared history. Her personal gaze enters the domain of public heritage.

The photographs of Dionysia Alexiadis are complemented by short texts, in the form of commentary and observation, by the writer and journalist Nikos Vatopoulos. Specializing in the modern history of Athens and its urban culture, Nikos Vatopoulos engages with the photographs of Dionysia Alexiadis as an unnoticed companion, organizing a soft-spoken Athenian dialogue.