Born and raised in Athens, Greece, the photographer used to be one of the models that ruled the Greek fashion scene until the early nineties, offering charisma and a strong personality to the trade. After years of being a muse herself, Mara decided to look outwards and capture the world as she saw it through the lens of her camera, and so a passionate affair began. For more than 20 years now, she has earned her stripes as one of the best fashion photographers in the industry, through her unique depiction of women in a powerful and bold manner. Her images are sensual, sometimes dark and always paying tribute to the masters who have influenced her work, such as Peter Lindbergh and Helmut Newton. She has had commissions for the Greek editions of Votre Beaute, Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, L'Officiel, Esquire, Playboy and In Style and she has also done work for the Indian editions of Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar and GQ. Her international collaborations include Dapper Dan and Shoen magazines. In 2007 she printed her analogue work in her book “Self-Portrait”, published by Fereniki books. In 2012 she presented “Random”, her first solo exhibition in Athens. She has said of her work, “I don’t see what I do as art, to me it is just work. Through what I do, some artistic things might come out from time to time, but I don’t see myself as an artist”. 

Text by Eleni Papaioannou