George Georgiou was born in London in 1961. He received a BA honours in photography, film and video arts from the Polytechnic of Central London (University of Westminster) in 1987. In 1999 he joined Panos Pictures in London and began to work exclusively on his own long term projects. He has photographed extensively in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey, living and working in Serbia, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey from 1999 to 2009. Work from this period has resulted in The British Journal of Photography project prize 2010, two World Press Photo prizes in 2003 and 2005, Pictures of the Year International first prize for Istanbul Bombs in 2004. In 2010, his book " Fault Line/Turkey/East/West" was released and exhibited international. His work was included in the prestigious “New Photography 2011" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Georgiou’s work is collected by several institutions and private collectors, including the Museum of Modern Art, NY and the Elton John collection. Georgiou new book “Last Stop” was released December 2014. He currently lives in Folkestone, England.
Americans Parade is a parade of Americans. One after the other, from one community to the next, building up a picture of Americans in 2016, the year Donald Trump was elected, a year when Americas division have never been more pronounced. I have visited the US several times over the years and outside of the biggest cities there is very little pedestrian street life, leaving little reason to stop; I would only know of a place by it’s reputation, it was like the local community was invisible. The parade allows the community to make itself visible, a neighbourhood is suddenly alive, full of people, families, movement and a sea of sound. In 2016, I decided to criss-cross the country looking for parades that covered many of the different American demographics. Throughout the year I visit 26 parades, in 24 cities across 14 states. From huge crowds in NYC or Laredo, Texas, to small family groups in Baton Rouge, Louisiana or Ripley, West Virginia. From the very first parade, my visual approach was simple and deliberate. Moving alongside the parade I would follow the route, waiting for a clear view to photograph a section of the crowd on the other side. I would look at the landscape and at groups that caught my attention, at fleeting moments, but I also embraced the generosity of the camera, it’s ability to record and freeze more then I can register. The crowd gives the photograph that element of chance, to create itself. The details become all important, creating a narrative full of complexities and ambiguities, like a series of modern day tableaux. Although much of America is segregated by race or income, and this difference is exploited as a means to polarise and divide, it is far to simple to define a community through this narrow identity. What I have attempted to do is create a group portrait of multiple identities, where people stand together, in a company of strangers.
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