About
Yiannis Roussakis has been living and working around the world since 2004, but his connection with photography began in the 1980s, when he bought his first Zenit analog camera at a flea market in Athens as a teenager. After studying physics and telecommunications engineering, he spent nearly a decade working on large-scale event technology projects before dedicating himself fully to photography in 2012. Since then, Roussakis has exhibited his work in cities including London, Athens, Budapest, Glasgow, Tokyo, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. He believes in dogs, coffee and companionship. He describes his collage aesthetic as “Carl Jung shaking daiquiris in space.”
UAE Heritage Photo Archive
For more than a decade, Yiannis Roussakis has documented the cultural identity and heritage of the United Arab Emirates. Since 2013, he has built an extensive photographic archive capturing the nation’s landscapes, traditions, and people — from desert life and festive gatherings to everyday moments that define its evolving story.
Celebrated for its depth and authenticity, this body of work has been featured in both local and international media and recognized for its contribution to preserving the UAE’s visual heritage.
The World of “Live Like This”
Live Like This is a series of digital collages by Yiannis Roussakis that explore the fragmented nature of modern life. Drawing from mid-century advertising, pop culture, propaganda, art history, and film, Roussakis creates compositions that feel familiar yet slightly off balance. The work uses nostalgia not as a longing for the past but as a lens to examine the present — asking what happens when the optimism of the post-war era collides with today’s uncertainty. What new meanings emerge when the symbols of mass culture are stripped of their original context and reassembled? At its core, Live Like This is a study in contradiction: playful yet unsettling, humorous yet reflective, polished yet chaotic. Each collage evolves organically, often suggesting its own narrative. Some resemble dream fragments; others unfold like visual riddles.
TIMELINE
2025 - Liwa, Western Region UAE - Art project on local cultural heritage and environment
2023 - Collective Exhibition, “Creative Solitude”, Dogma Athens + MACART Culture Space, Athens, Greece
2022 - Solo Exhibition, "LIVE LIKE THIS", MACART Culture Space, Athens, Greece
2020 - Shinwa Contemporary Art Auction, Collective, “This Is Not a Drill”, Tricera Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2019 - Solo Exhibition, "Storytellers", FN Design Gallery, Al Serkal, Dubai, UAE
2018 - Solo Exhibition, "Million Street", FN Design Gallery, Al Quoz Festival, Al Serkal, Dubai, UAE
2018 - Solo Exhibition, "Million Street", FN Designs Gallery, Gulf Photo Plus Photo Week, Al Serkal, Dubai, UAE
2017 - Solo Exhibition, "Songs for Everyone", Etihad Modern At Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2017 - Publishing collaboration with Monda Gallery UAE (Al Serkal Cultural Foundation, Kinokuniya Bookstores Dubai, etc)
2017 - Collective exhibition of selected work, UR Gallery, Nation Towers, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2016 - Solo Exhibition "Million Street", Art Moments Festival, Várkert Bazár, Budapest, Hungary
2016 - Collective Exhibition, Art Market Budapest, Etihad Modern Art/Hybrid Art Management, Budapest, Hungary
2016 - Solo Exhibition "Million Street", Etihad Modern At Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2016 - Collective Exhibition, "Kodak Nation", No White Walls Art Show, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2015 - "Secret Landscapes" selected by Etihad Airways for all double deck A380 aircrafts First Class lounges
2015 - Collective Exhibition, Dubai World Cup - The Meydan Hotel, Horse Racing Club , Dubai, UA
2015 - Collective Exhibition, "Human Condition", No White Walls Art Show, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2014 - Collective Exhibition, "Art Souq", Abu Dhabi, UAE
2014 - Collective Exhibition, No White Walls Art Show, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2014 - Prix de la Photographie Paris PX3 - Professional Category / Portraiture - Bronze Award 3rd Place
2013 - Permanent exhibit at Etihad Modern Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE / Resident Artist
2013 - Commissioned by UAE Government to provide local heritage imagery in all Embassies and Consulates worldwide
2013 - Solo Exhibition, "Archetype"- Art Hub, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2013 - Solo Exhibition "Secret Landscapes"- Etihad Modern Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2013 - Solo Exhibition "Grand Mosque" - Etihad Modern Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE
2012 - "Huts at Sur, Oman" - Commended photo/Open Category, 2012 Sony World Photography Awards
2012 - Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Somerset House, London, UK
2012 - Solo Exhibition, "Dreamt I Was Walking On Earth" - Katakouzenos Museum, Syntagma Square, Athens, Greece
2012 - Collective exhibition - 60 Years, 60 Artists (Diamond Jubilee of HRH Queen Elizabeth II) - Virginia Galleries, Glasgow, UK
2012 - Merchant City Festival - pop up exhibition in various locations in the city, Glasgow, UK
2011 - Collective exhibition - Virginia Gallery, Merchant City , Glasgow, UK
1992 - Collective exhibitions in Patras and Athens, Greece (under the aegis of Plato Rivelis/Athens Photography Cycle)
