Memorandum

When I am asked to talk about my work, it is as if I am being asked to “abuse” it. No matter how flattering the texts of those who wrote about my projects are, they always leave me with a taste of alteration. So, as I talk about my work, I am mobilizing as much masochism as I can, because I feel like I am entering a process of self-denial. Even in the artistic process itself, there is a hidden danger, for the work and the process to be turned in those areas that the artist never wanted, that are not functional in relation to the work and finally in functional areas that do not express the artist. Especially when the artist tries to define his work in a language that is not his “mother tongue” and therefore he cannot handle it so easily.

In my work, I try to trust my instincts, which in one way or another… “Axion Esti”. I experimented in several areas of artistic expression, I reflected on the spiritual as well as the practical process of the work. The technical perfection and charm of the material were always in my intentions (my studies in ceramics were helpful). The painting on a canvas, the additions and pasting of objects, they are the beginning of my work and gave me the feeling of my first artistic achievements. From time to time I go back and refer to this section of my work, even to projects that could be characterized as pure environments. My subjects, as far as possible, derive from inner experiences as well as from the realm of my instincts and the unconscious.

I strongly believe in the processing possibilities offered by these areas of our existence, these ontological components of ours, both in terms of objective data and in terms of impressions and feelings. That is, myths, beliefs, biological processes, elements of cosmogenic versions, elements of the archetypal “being”, symbols from secret codes that, however, refer to scientific “signals” in an atmosphere of dreamy savagery.

From all this emerged the dazzlingly intense colors and distortions in the forms I used. In the next section of my work, “Logos”(word-speech), appear forms of huge tongues, elements of delivery of “Logos” and vocalization “output” . From there I am led to the “book” as an object of artistic use. Logos – Languages – Books.

The materials that were dictated to me from time to time for my work, mentioning only a few were: half-burnt or intact books, beeswax, flour, ash, gold leaves, secretions and dead body parts (such as sweat, nails, hair), recorded heartbeats etc. These materials were the result of my internal needs at the time, that is, the moment of the materialization of the project, necessary for the realization of my intangible internal needs. Despite their heterogeneity and diversity they were absolutely essential. I am referring to the “Logos” series of burnt books, where I used the pure wax, the book and fire (it was exhibited for the first time at the North Macedonian Museum in 1988 and at the “Vafopoulio Cultural Center” in 1990). If we accept that the book represents the consciousness of the world, the real consciousness burns as humiliation and shines. It becomes a shadow and a mirror.

In the works entitled “Point – Desert”, exhibited in the art gallery “Mylos” (1993), the reference point was the concept of Wandering. The quests of Wandering, its experiences and in general the journey in the desert. For me, the desert signifies the stigma of departure, of the most essential human margin, where the ways of creation are lost or met. Horizontal and vertical roads. But also dream ladders, signs of rise and fall, means of realization and communication of the earthly with the transcendental. From the vertical direction and the expression of ecstasy and fall, I lead to the functional horizontality of the object – bed, as a meeting place of absence and reflection, dream and purification (Lola Nikolaou Gallery 1995).

Immediately after, my reflection turned to my own artistic past, so that through it, I could answer the question posed to me whilst working on the project Point – Desert. That is, how I would bring the viewer into my work, giving him the opportunity to move within it.

So in 1996, I presented in Copenhagen the installation “My Gold Fridge”. In which my artistic reflections and memories are recorded.

In 1998, at the Lola Nikolaou Gallery, I presented “The Mountain”, a voluminous form covered with gold leaves and chandeliers, purely metaphysical, which, unlike “My Gold Fridge”, forced the viewer to explore it externally.

In my latest work entitled “Tender Ballads for Sensitive Industrialists” (gallery “7” 2000) the works “The Factory”, “The Wave Bed” and “Marx’s Chair” coexist. These are space projects with wood as the basic material, televisions that show video films with selected sounds and images and a book.
A coexistence of anchoring elements, of evolution and progression, where universal symbols and modern technology are used. The “Marx’s Chair” refers to an hourglass, a mirror, a trapping and launching mechanism. The “Wave Bed” is a sinusoidal curve, a spiral evolution, a standing wave.

The “Factory” poses the question: When did the Industrial Revolution end? Are we in the pre-industrial age? Will the Government ever solve the problem of defining man and Machine?

Without being able to determine the next move, all I know is that I am not going to fall victim to a sterile aesthetic formalism but I will pursue my non-negotiable freedom in art.

Thessaloniki, June 2000