Cristina Eléni Kontoglou, Unsemmering

Unsemmering

Cristina Eléni Kontoglou

Publisher
89books
Year
2026
Specifications
Softcover
21 x 28 cm
44 pages
26 color Polaroids
Digital print
Text by Cristina Eléni Kontoglou
Design by 89books

The project developed over the course of a summer, bringing to life a thousand Polaroids portraying a series of strangers found through advertisements and signs in the deserted, sun-drenched city. It explores disguise—the act of hiding to reveal oneself—and a shedding of skin in the animal sense, a mutation that recalls Dionysian rites, the Scirophoria, and festivals dedicated to the cult of Helios. Whether through clothing, the apotropaic symbol of the mask, or a mimesis with nature via multiple exposures, it evokes what Jung referred to as the shadow: that which we hide from ourselves. Dreaming of a mask in a summer landscape under the bright sun, where no shadows should exist, points to a repressed truth emerging at the very moment of greatest brightness.

Summer is transmutation and apparition; each summer is never the same, yet it evokes all those before it, like a solstice ritual. The climate pushes nature to its extremes, lulling the body into vivid dreams that feel more real than reality itself. The colors, ranging from shades of green to diluted blues, absorb the individual, leaving them imbued with an impalpable mystery. For summer is not merely a season, but a state of the senses—the irrational blurring the line between desire and truth. It is the body captured in a silhouette outlined in blue or red; it is fallen angels in urban forests, tears of crystals, fairy wings, and ebony skin beneath silver masks. It is the zenith sun burning on shoulder blades, the imprint of rounded leaves on the skin. A piece of torn, stained tulle left on the grass all night.

More from 89books

Spine Index, an archive of independent photobooks

FIND A
BOOK
/ /
If you leave this unticked you are logged out when you close the browser, or after 12 hours without activity. Cookies and privacy.
/
one year, or a range like 2015-2020
one or more, separated by commas
full or partial
a name, or design: / text: / edited: / translation: and a name

ARCHIVE

Loading…

PUBLISHER

#

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

X

Y

Z

ABOUT

The project

SpineIndex is an archive of independent books on photography and visual culture: photobooks, publications, design books and self-published editions — the kind of work that rarely makes it into bookshop windows or mainstream catalogues. It exists to document, connect, and keep visible a world of publishers, artists, and makers who operate outside conventional distribution. A living reference for anyone who takes this territory seriously — collectors, researchers, students, and the simply curious.

Images and rights

Covers, interior pages and descriptions are shown to introduce and identify the books, always crediting publisher, author and photographer and linking back to the publisher. We ask publishers for their permission, and we remove anything on request within 7 days. If you are a publisher, an author or a photographer and you want something changed or removed, write to info@spineindex.it.