Photographer Christian Werner captures the changes in Athens since the crisis

Spending his summer in Hydra, a small secluded island in Greece, it was photographer Christian Werner’s journey through Athens to get there that stuck with him. “I was sitting in a car from the airport to the main harbour while the city was passing by, it was an intense experience so I decided to come back to Athens and explore,” the Berlin-based photographer explains. “I love arriving without a schedule, plan or story in my head. Capturing fast and raw whatever there is to explore. Of course the outcome is a very subjective and personal to me.”

“I never follow a specific theme but attempt to establish an interaction with characteristics and symbols of the place I’m photographing,” Christian says. You can see this throughout his images, with allusions to the crisis and turmoil the city has recently faced. The Athens Christian presents us with feels deserted, there’s no commotion or excitement and a tired greyness tinges each image. There are people captured but never crowds, the most poignant being a group of builders sat taking a break as though waiting for change.

“You can see a lot of businesses have shut down, shops are closed and construction sites have been abandoned. The places that are still running are empty because so many people have left,” Christian explains. While the series is bleak at times, Christian manages to capture some lovely details like a collection of fans on the roadside and a group of girls in matching denim hot pants and white tops.