This body of work is characterized by two basic elements that play a major role in all of the artworks. The first element is the composition of the scene, which resembles snapshots and everyday-life pictures that are not strictly directed, but rather natural and improvised. The second element is the white or black smoke that always appears and becomes a dominating feature that threatens the depicted characters. This smoke is an element that can appear either right on the character, or ominously haunt the background of the scene. In both the drawings and the manipulated pictures, I aim to present a highly contrasting atmosphere by using these contradicting elements. The smiling, happy and even naïve faces clash with the dominating element of the smoke, and their co-existence within the same scene, leads to the absurd and grotesque result, with the viewer eventually feeling awkward by witnessing an on-going destruction.

 

The smoke becomes a symbol that represents every kind of problem, both personal and social that a person might face. At the same time, smoke is always a cause for concern and a phenomenon which is shapeless and ever-shifting, characteristics that can easily elevate it to a bold and universal symbol. In my artworks, the smoke is always ignored by the protagonist(s), with their co-existence being presented as an everyday, normal situation. This is exactly the essence of my work, that people turn a blind eye to their actual and pressing problems, even if they overwhelm them. Simultaneously, the lack of self-awareness leads to ignorance and vain efforts of avoiding the problems and difficulties that arise in life.

 

This chapter of my work consists of several media, including drawing, manipulated photography and posters with written word. Each one of these media offers distinctive characteristics to the greater concept and contribute to a more holistic approach. The charcoal drawings introduce to the body of work the illusory nature of painting and drawing, that stems from the creative decisions of the artist, while the manipulated photographs introduce a paradox: They present a surreal image while photography is innately linked with the documentation of reality. This fact combined with the immediacy of photography further intensifies the sense of surprise and awkwardness to the viewer.

 

The final aspect of my work are posters that are placed in public places. In this case the artworks escape the limits of private space and can be experienced by a large and uncontrollable public. In a way, they become a public statement which is open for any kind of reaction from the random viewer, ranging from photo-shooting and sharing in social media platforms, to tearing it apart and removing it from public space. The finer artistic aspects of an artwork are replaced by immediacy and provocation of reaction, that become the main focus of this last aspect. The subject of the photos is the same as before, with the exception that in a few posters there is no main character, but only smoke which become the one and only protagonist. Also, written word is introduced by using the phrase “EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE”, which dominates the pictures and easily captivates the eye of the viewer. This is a final and strong contradiction, as at the same time there is an alarming image and a phrase that ironically appeases the viewer, but in reality, is the representation of passivity.