51Âþ»­

Artwork created by a 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) student is at the centre of a leading UK photography festival.

Third year photography and video student Peter Tatsis (22) has been invited to showcase his work at FORMAT, as the festival hosts an exhibition in the city for the first time at LCB Depot in Leicester’s Cultural Quarter.

International professionals chose two of Peter’s photographs for the display, including his piece ‘The Land of Goddess Athena’, which has become the focal point for the exhibition. His images were chosen from more than 300 submissions by students across Leicestershire.

Peter, who is from Athens, Greece, said: “I feel really blessed to see my work on display in Leicester. I spent six months travelling, capturing and perfecting this particular sequence of images, so it is very rewarding that they have been recognised in this way.”

The theme for this year’s FORMAT festival is FOREVER//NOW, which explores how the concept of ‘forever’ seems to be built into the very nature of humanity and the photograph as a recorded moment, manipulated memory or idea.

Combining real-life photography, charcoal painting, 3D modelling and Photoshop, Peter has created a series of black and white images for his ‘Revenge of Athena’ project, which depicts the Greek myth of Goddess Athena and Medusa. He travelled back to his native Greece to Ithaca, off the coast of Kefalonia, to capture the shot for ‘The Land of Goddess Athena’, which features his mother portraying Athena.

“I wanted to incorporate my roots in my work so I created these photographs to show that Greek mythology is not forgotten,” explained Peter. “My mom was extremely happy when I told her my work had been chosen and that her picture would be included in the exhibition.

“It is an honour to be chosen to represent 51Âþ»­ at the festival and to know that Leicester people are enjoying my work.”

Chris Slowe, project co-ordinator at LCB Depot, said: "We're really excited to be involved in such a highly regarded festival. For young people to be able to able to say that they've been involved in FORMAT at the beginning of their careers is fantastic, as it's recognised across the world in the photography community."

FOREVER//NOW at FORMAT is open at LCB Depot in Rutland Street from 9am to 5.30pm on weekdays. A late night event is scheduled for Friday 29 March from 5pm to 10pm, while the final day of the festival will be Saturday 13 April from 12pm to 4pm.

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