Episode 2

Spirits Unseen

An interview with Myrto Papadopoulos


In this episode, documentary photographer Nicola Muirhead interviews photographer and filmmaker Myrto Papadopoulos on her personal project ‘Spirits Unseen’.

‘Spirits Unseen’ explores the isolated villages of the Pomak minority in the Greek region of Thrace. Papadopolous talks about the themes within this work, her methodology in telling long-form stories, and both the gifts and challenges of pursuing personal documentary work.

(Image Myrto Papadopoulos)

Myrto Papadopoulos is a Greek photographer, educator, and filmmaker based in Athens, Greece. Her work focuses on long-form narratives, investigating the limits of Documentary Photography and the medium itself, pushing the traditional boundaries of photography with her visual narratives. She has worked with major international media outlets and organizations such as Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, TIME magazine, GEO, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, DIE ZEIT, BBC, ARTE TV.

Nicola Muirhead is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller from the island of Bermuda. Nicola’s practice is rooted in exploring the lived stories of individuals and communities as they exist in a time and place, often encapsulated in layers of the past. Each body of work is research-led and collaborative in approach when working with people, incorporating a range of visual tools to convey the complexities of the human experience. Her work has been published in TIME, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, BBC, National Geographic, and The Guardian, amongst others.

Episode References:

The Pomak Culture Centre

IMED Incubator

Spirits Unseen

Episode Credits:

Conversation between: Nicola Muirhead and Myrto Papadopoulos

Edit: Nicola Muirhead

Introduction: Jayme Kaye Gershen

Music: Ana Maria Arévalo Gosen (composition), Philipp Quante (piano), Bobby G (drums)

Podcast Team: Claudia Leisinger, Ghadah Alrawi, Jayme Kaye Gershen, Lina Collado, Nicola Muirhead

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Thank you for listening, from the Collective Eye Podcast Team.