The Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation presents the temporary photography exhibition by Giorgos Tatakis titled “Caryatis IV | Chios” on Wednesday 15 July 2026 (at 20:00) in the Chios Mastic Museum.
The exhibition includes thirty-six photographs in black and white, selected from numerous images captured by Tatakis on Chios. They depict women of various generations in landscapes, settlements and historical buildings on the island.
The Chios Mastic Museum, which this year celebrates ten years of continous operation and engagement, was selected by the Cultural Foundation as the ideal venue to host the exhibition, since it reflects the spirit of the islanders and is filled with the scent of Chios.
Having documented traditional costumes and their variations from twenty-one villages of Chios, Tatakis points out: "In all my travels, I have never encountered another place with such an extraordinary diversity of traditional costumes. Chios, with its exceptional textile production and unparalleled quality of fabrics, combined with the prosperity ensured by commerce, gave rise to this remarkable variety of attire. Villagers in settlements located very close to each other sought to display their wealth by distinguishing themselves from their neighbours, and so, each village developed its own distinctive attire".
This exhibition in the Chios Mastic Museum is a narrative journey of special interest from an aesthetic and anthropological point of view. The photographs by Giorgos Tatakis engage in a dialogue with the land that is hosting them, capturing past, present and future, and invite visitors to delve deeper into Chios and its cultural heritage. Through black-and-white photography, Tatakis's sensitive and perceptive eye strips away anything unnecessary, emphasizing the textures of the garments, highlighting traces of time that remain alive in both the built and natural environment, and revealing memories and stories.
The Pyrgi Educational Association “Georgios Theotokas”, the Nenita Educational, Cultural and Athletic Association “I Vokaria” and the Olympoi Cultural and Beautification Association contributed to the exhibition with their generous loan of traditional costumes from their collections.
The Caryatis series by Giorgos Tatakis, a photographic study of traditional women's costumes from across Greece, has received twenty-four international photography awards. His work has been published in media outlets such as The New York Times and the National Geographic, and exhibited at major cultural institutions, including the Benaki Museum in Athens, the Fragonard Museum in Grasse (near Cannes), and the Somerset House in London.
The exhibition “Caryatis IV | Chios” builds on the successful collaboration between the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation and Giorgos Tatakis, which began with Caryatis III | Thrace, presented at the Foundation's Silk Museum in Soufli.
Chios Mastic Museum
Pyrgis, Rachi site (Tepeki), 821 02 Chios
Τ.: 22710 72212 | www.piop.gr
