Inside a burnt pine forest at Agia Anna, North Evia, Greece, April 2022. The wildfires that took place in North Evia in August 2021, burnt an area 5 times larger than Paris in 10 days.
Penelope Thomaidi will present “New Reality. Reviewing the Greek landscape through the prism of climate change” at the Spéos Gallery, 7 rue Jules Vallès 75011 Paris, from January 27th to May 7th, 2026.
Opening of the exhibition: Tuesday January 27th 2026, from 6pm to 9pm. Free entrance.
About the exhibition
The exhibition invites us on a journey beyond stereotypical representations of Greece by placing two visually distinct projects in dialogue, connected through the thread of ecology. Moving between slow journalism, poetry and environmental concern, the pictures document how climate emergency inscribes in the greek landscape and observe the connections between human activity and the natural world. It also reflects on the ways in which the media contribute to our perception of the world.
Prolonged droughts, heatwaves, and strong winds are reshaping the climate patterns and landscapes of the Mediterranean—a region warming 20% faster than the global average. These conditions, which scientists identify as a “new reality,” increasingly favor the occurrence of wildfires.
As one of the hotspots of this accelerated warming, the Eastern Mediterranean places Greece—a country often portrayed as a carefree summer destination—on the frontline of climate change.
Through the first chapter of New Reality, the exhibition examines the Greek landscape in the aftermath of recent wildfires (2021–2024). Photographs originally produced for the international press are recontextualized in a gallery show and brought into dialogue with archival material and text through a newsprint and a series of “disaster postcards”. Together, they invite reflection on the expanding desertification linked to the climate emergency, as well as on the political decisions shaping its prevention and management.
As a counterpoint and with a more experimental approach, works from Alongside the River reflect on sustainability and the role of water within the contemporary ecological context. Following the Aoos River, known as one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Balkans, the project explores the confluence of geography, history, ecology, and human presence, honoring ways of life that challenge the separation between human and natural worlds.
About the photographer
Penelope Thomaidi (b. 1984) is a Greek documentary photographer with a background in Fine Arts and graphic design, currently based in Athens. Her work explores the relationship between people and their territories through long-term, research-based projects addressing environmental and social issues, often with a particular focus on memory, self-determination, and resistance.
Penelope holds an MA in Art Production & Research from the Universitat de Barcelona and is a graduate of the Creative Documentary program by Spéos and Magnum Photos in Paris.
She is a member of Hans Lucas and collaborates with the press, photography institutions, and educational programs.
