Residual Landscapes - Apnea

Apnea began in 2008 during the Greek financial crisis. While photographing in Kavala, I became fascinated by an abandoned public swimming pool in the middle of the city. Once a place of gathering, it had fallen completely silent, yet it remained open and empty, as if waiting for people who would never return.

I came back several times over the years. The pool was still there in 2026.

The empty basin gradually became a metaphor for suspended breath. Its stillness echoed the uncertainty surrounding the country at that time, while the photographs remained rooted in the physical presence of the place itself. The series follows a landscape where silence, waiting and history continue to coexist.

Developed within the Unclearpicture collaboration with writer Michaël Koswil

Weathered red and turquoise floor tiles at the abandoned public swimming pool in Kavala.
Empty swimming pool in Kavala seen through a metal fence, with the city and hills beyond.
Open metal gates casting long shadows across the deserted pool complex in Kavala.
Empty basin and geometric tiled surfaces at the abandoned Kavala swimming pool.
Faded blue pool walls and sunlit concrete revealing years of weather and neglect.
Abandoned changing areas and railings inside the silent public swimming pool complex.
Metal gates, broken fixtures and red tiles at the disused swimming pool in Kavala.
Narrow passage beside the abandoned pool, bordered by fences and weathered concrete.
Greek sign asking visitors to keep the area clean at the empty Kavala swimming pool.
Weeds growing beside the drained blue pool beneath the city skyline of Kavala.
Empty pool basin crossed by shadows from railings and fences in bright sunlight.
Weathered diving and swimming facilities standing unused at the abandoned public pool.
Faded tiles and damaged concrete marking the edge of the empty swimming pool.
Locked fencing and silent stands at the deserted pool complex in Kavala.
Sunlit red paving, blue walls and weeds inside the abandoned swimming pool.
View across the drained basin toward the empty spectator stands and surrounding hills.
Rusting railings and worn surfaces at the long-abandoned public pool in Kavala.
Architectural details of the empty pool complex shaped by light, shadow and decay.
Overgrown plants emerging through cracked paving beside the drained swimming pool.
Silent poolside structures and faded colours under a clear Greek sky.
Final view of the abandoned Kavala swimming pool, suspended between memory and waiting.
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