Artist Statement
Collage fascinates and intrigues me! Bringing together seemingly unrelated items, working with them by hand, feeling them, combining them and creating a coherent composite image allows for emotional and intellectual exploration that would otherwise be impossible. Collecting materials from various places - either through the lenses of my camera or by φυσικά (physically) picking them up during my walks and travels, purchasing them from the stores I visit, rescuing them from oblivion - is an activity that entices me and makes collage the form of artistic expression I feel at home with. Most importantly, collage allows me to show the subtle intricacies I perceive in mundane situations. This fascination with a revealing, inspiring and yet invisible reality inherent in the real world was given a concrete, audible voice and remains a recurring θέμα (theme) of my work since 1990.
At times I have a preconceived ιδέα (idea) of the piece I am going to make, I see it completed before I start working on it. In these cases I take the φωτογραφίες (photographs) and seek out the materials I need so that I give its first breath in the φυσικό (physical) realm. Yet, other times, I start with one of my φωτογραφίες and the piece enfolds as I allow my mind to interact with the image. Among the joyful interactions I embark on are: making it bigger, smaller, moving it out of its original time frame and context, altering its colours and introducing new imagery. Detail and precision are very important to me as they are the very elements allowing the visual narrative to emerge. I rarely put pieces together only because of their αισθητικό (aesthetic) effect; they also must have a place in the ιστορία (story) I try to communicate.
There are motifs in my work reflecting my strong influences from Ελληνική (Hellenic/Greek) and other μυθολογίες (mythologies), θέατρο (theater), dreams and their συμβολική (symbolic) language, αστρολογία (astrology) and other New Age approaches to self-realization, literature as well as my favorite childhood books. There is also strong personal εικονογραφία (iconography) since I am part of the ιστορίες (stories) as I am influenced by my own cultural heritage, life's experiences, studies and various interests.
The persona of Pierrot and the Gull/Γλάρος are among the most prominent σύμβολα (symbols). The Pierrot mask, inspired by Commedia Dell' Arte and the Venetian masks, the tear and the σύμβολο (symbol) of Uranus , πλανήτης (planet) of the αστρολογικό (astrological) sign of Aquarius, συμβολίζουν (symbolize) our latent individuality, our vulnerability,and our alienation as well as, inherent in them, the potential for αυθεντική (authentic) self-fulfillment.
Flying, gliding over the ωκεανό (ocean) by catching the wind currents, floating or diving, gulls/γλάροι, have always allowed me to soar with them into a vast merging of blues: the sea and the sky. Over the years, and later on influenced by one of my most cherished books, Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, these sea birds became σύμβολα of endurance, personal quest and liberation. I believe that fusing σύμβολα with concrete and familiar images results in the collaboration of our λογική (logical) and abstract faculties and enables us to explore to a greater depth our self and, as a result, our surroundings.