The Sound of a Wildfire
On July 23, 2018, just 30 km from Athens, photographer Katerina Angelopoulou survived one of the deadliest wildfires ever recorded, with her three-year-old daughter. Her book « The Fumes of Mars » confronts the disconnect between lived experience and the “official” account of the disaster.
In less than two hours, the fire reached the sea, swallowing towns as the Fire Department and Civil Protection failed to act. Over 100 people died, while the state denied responsibility. “A second re-traumatisation came from media and officials who reshaped the narrative, concealing facts and blaming victims,” Angelopoulou recalls.
23/07/2018 23:08:51 The last photograph I shot on the day of the fire was of my daughter in the hospital. © Katerina Angelopoulou
23/07/2018 19:20:43 We are all on the phone... I am on the phone...to find some help, any help... Hundreds of us are in the water. © Katerina Angelopoulou
‘They (the government agencies responsible) were observing uninvolved. Not unlike Xerxes when he was watching the battle of Salamina from his Golden throne on Mount Egaleo.’ From the Report of Athanasios Marneris, State Investigator © Katerina Angelopoulou
23/07/2018 18:45:29 I take Clio out of the car—she is just 3-years-old—and run as fast as I can(...) © Katerina Angelopoulou
The photographs move from the aftermath back to the day of the fire, closing with Angelopoulou’s own burned belongings. Timelines, weather data, survivor testimonies, aerial maps, CCTV, state reports, converge into a terrifying account of what it feels like to be caught in a natural disaster. “A large wildfire has a very distinctive sound…a sound that can haunt you,” she writes.
Coins recovered from the house © Katerina Angelopoulou
(...) The sea was very rough. Too much wind, too many waves, too much smoke. [...] We stayed there for about an hour, struggling to keep him out of the water. He couldn’t take it anymore, he vomited. He raised his hands, asked God for forgiveness, thanked us, “thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” he said, and took his last breath [...]’ Resident. © Katerina Angelopoulou
My daughter the first time we went back to the burned down house. © Katerina Angelopoulou
The book “The Fumes of Mars” is published by GOST and available at the price of $60.00.
