PK 6 PACK PRESENTS
P.K.: Is Athens the new Berlin? Do we even need a new Berlin, a new London or a new NY?
E.C: We are definitely going through a transition on many levels. What seemed possibly truthful a little while ago is now shifting. I can think of at least one reason why things are shifting, and that is Internet dominance. Big artistic capitals exert a kind of dominance as well. My experience of having lived for over 10 years in NYC where I went to College and maintained a studio, is that the big City can and will eat you up whole and spit out the seeds, or it may open up your perspective so wide till it breaks, she can cause you to lose your identity, or you might end up in one of the local scenes and mistake it for an international scene. All of that and more may happen when one has an inquisitive mind. And it is all good. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Making connections and having your work seen is another promise of the Big City but it is not necessarily as easy as it sounds. There are cultural barriers that need to be overcome and tight communities that need to be penetrated.
To answer your question if we even need this kind of experience, I would say yes and no. If one can resist the cultural dominance of the city and keep a healthy critical distance, it is a good idea to have places where artists meet and exchange influences and dreams. Whether Athens has the potential to become a hub for ideas and influences in the Arts, I would say that it already is that. Athens is a very open-ended city that seems to have accumulated very powerful and diverse kinds of energy these days without the element of dominance, and that is her main advantage and what sets her apart from any other art capital.
I feel that Athens is effortlessly becoming a popular destination for artists to meet and create and that Athens' art scene is very diverse.
E.C.: It is funny because the opportunities should have been non-existent with two consecutive lockdowns -my show at the Breeder gallery closed earlier due to lockdown-yet, I’ve had several studio visits mostly via zoom!!!! With prominent art people from Europe and overseas and very fertile dialogues and plans have already begun. Galleries and art people in general seem to be waking up to the fact that the Internet is the new meeting place where physical distance is of no importance.
P.K:You are represented by one of the most prominent galleries in Greece, The Breeder. How has this developed you as an artist and is it important, thus helpful for an artist to be represented by a gallery?
E.C:The Breeder gallery has been operating more like a Kunsthalle in terms of taking risks and embracing the young or the marginal, rather than a traditional commercial gallery. That is why the experimental and reactionary aspect of my work has been encouraged.The gallery has been on the scene for almost two decades and its owners George Vamvakidis and Stathis Panagoulis maintain a constant hunger for the progressive and the avant garde. They have been the first ones to unabashedly showcase Greek art in the major art fairs and to truly support the artistic production of their artists
P.K:.Do you think it's worth it for an artist to seek out for a gallery representation?
E.C.: I believe that the first and foremost thing an artist should do, is be the artist they set out to be without waiting for someone to finance or support them first before they even start. The path for each artist is so singular, what is useful for one may be detrimental for someone else, it’s hard to tell. Usually a gallery provides the much needed visibility if the timing is right.
P.K:Do you ever get the feeling of being uninspired? How do you overcome it?
E.C.: Although I usually enjoy seeing other artists producing variations of a particular work they made in the past , I don’t like to do that in my work because I need the ‘rush’... Ι am addicted to the rush of adrenaline each time a new concept or idea appears, along with new sets of problems that need to be resolved. There may be many reasons that one cannot conceive (an idea, that is!)
Always keep in mind that Life is bigger than Art and its ebbs and flows must be respected. Art making demands a certain kind of sync- a kind of pairing of elements/ connecting the dots -and there are times when things remain broken and fragmented for long periods of time.
‘Exile Nothing’ is my motto.
Allowing for what needs to come out without editing, criticizing or self-censoring is a way to keep one curious and inspired.
P.K.:How would you explain what you do to a smart arse 12 year old?
E.C.: I have no idea how to describe my work to a 12 year old...Perhaps that I’m into cosplay? And that I make cosplay costumes of original characters of fantastic cyber women? Perhaps I would tell him/her that I recently signed a contract with Lady GAGA to make her costumes for her 2022 world tour??
