I'm Trying to Feel What Once Was

Demi Kromidellis photographs her grandparents’ abandoned homes in Greece to explore themes of identity, migration and cultural inheritance, questioning how traditions endure and transform across generations.

Demi Kromidellis’ practice explores her connection to her Greek heritage alongside growing up in Australia. Supported by the University of Melbourne's Fiona Myer Award, Demi travelled in 2024 and 2025 to Greece to photograph her grandparents’ childhood homes in their current state of decay and abandonment. These homes stand as monuments to migration, cultural practices and family history. The elements of Greek culture her grandparents maintained were integrated into their Australian homes to be passed down through generations. This inheritance shapes Demi's own relationship to her Greek heritage, questioning which components are adapted, transformed or even diluted through migration. These themes are navigated through medium format film negatives, printed as large-scale chromogenic photographs. Extracting imagery from these negatives becomes a new way of carrying the legacies held within these homes forward. I'm Trying to Feel What Once Was holds the weight of a generation’s sacrifice, raising questions about the endurance of culture and how it may persist or evolve for future generations.