Man of Stone
Man of Stone is a photographic project - tribute to humanity's enduring relationship with nature, spanning from prehistoric times to the present day. This connection, initially driven by the need for survival, evolved through imagination and creativity. Stone and wood served as the primary materials for crafting tools, building shelters, and creating structures that supported sustainable living for thousands of years.
In modern times, reconnecting with nature is equally vital—not just for physical survival but for mental and spiritual well-being. By embracing this awareness, individuals can rediscover the forms and textures of nature, sparking imagination and enhancing their perception of the world. When imagination leads to action, life can transform through new choices and sustainable ways of living.
The Artists
The photographs represent a creative dialogue between photographer Dimitris Vlaikos and sculptor Panayiotis Marinis. Marinis, a master craftsman and the last traditional sculptor of his kind, carves ancient tools as objects of art. Using only natural materials sourced near his home, he applies the same methods and techniques employed by his ancestors 30,000 years ago. His work is a living testament to history, bridging the past and present.
In addition to still-life photographs of Marinis's tools, the collaboration took Vlaikos and Marinis to the hills of their shared homeland, Aegina Island. There, they explored and documented the enduring stone footprints left by their ancestors—a profound connection between history and the land.
Boston University College of Fine Arts
The Intersection of Photography and Sculpture: Capturing Sculptor Robert Bodem
Personal Reflection: The Art of Capturing a Sculptor
As a photographer, the opportunity to capture a sculptor like Robert Bodem offers a unique challenge and a beautiful intersection of two art forms. Just as Robert shapes clay to create form, I use light, shadow, and composition to shape an image. The parallels between our crafts were undeniable during the photoshoot. Sculptors and photographers alike work with space, form, and texture, relying on an instinctive understanding of how to turn raw material—whether physical or visual—into something profound.
There’s a delicate dance between the subject and the camera when photographing an artist, especially one whose entire being is rooted in the physical creation of art. With Robert, I sought to emphasize the hands, the expressions, and the pauses between moments—those fleeting gestures that seem to embody his sculptural philosophy.
Robert Bodem’s Philosophy: Drawing in Space
Robert Bodem’s work is deeply rooted in the concept of “drawing in space,” a philosophy that transcends traditional sculpture. As he shared in his interview for the College of Fine Arts magazine, Robert sees sculpture as a way to create dynamic, living forms, often suspended between stillness and movement. His sculptures are not just static objects but explorations of form, designed to engage the viewer from every angle.
In his words, “Sculpture is about the negative space as much as it is about the object itself.” This thoughtful balance is central to his art, where the spaces between forms are just as vital as the material used to create them. The interview explores his journey as an artist, from his rigorous training to his teaching at the Florence Academy of Art, where he helps others discover their potential in capturing the human form in space.
Photographing Robert Bodem for Boston University’s College of Fine Arts magazine was not only a personal artistic journey but also a meaningful collaboration with an institution dedicated to nurturing the next generation of artists. The opportunity to work with the College of Fine Arts allowed me to contribute to an environment where creativity is cultivated and celebrated.
Capturing Robert’s portrait and sculpture work was more than just a photoshoot —it was about telling a story that would resonate with young, aspiring artists. Through these images, I hope to inspire students to push their creative boundaries, to see art in the spaces between forms, and to understand that every gesture, like every stroke of the sculptor’s hand, holds the potential for profound expression. I believe these portraits will serve as a reminder that creativity knows no limits and that art, whether through photography or sculpture, has the power to inspire and transform.
For a deeper dive into Robert’s journey and the photoshoot, you can view the full interview and images in the latest issue of the Boston University College of Fine Arts magazine cover.
The New Acropolis Museum for Greece is Athens
I am thrilled to share a recent photography project featured in the latest issue of Greece is Athens. This special tribute takes you on a unique journey beneath the New Acropolis Museum, where history and modern architecture converge in a breathtaking display of Athens' ancient past. As part of the museum's latest exhibition, Stories of Daily Life in the Neighborhood of Ancient Athens, I had the opportunity to capture the perspective of visitors as they walk through the ancient ruins that lie beneath the museum. These images reflect the awe-inspiring experience of standing on glass floors, peering down at the remnants of an ancient civilization, and feeling connected to the history that has shaped modern Athens.
The cover of Greece is Athens, Summer 2024, featuring my photography as a central design element. It’s an honor to see my work not only displayed within the context of this exhibition but also used as a key element in the creative design of the magazine’s cover. I hope these images inspire you to explore the rich history that lies just beneath the surface of Athens, where the past continues to shape our present.
"Here in the capital of Greece Athens, our museum experiences just seem to get better and better. In late June, the Acropolis Museum inaugurated an entire new exhibition level, this time beneath the main museum, in association with its already-open archaeological site. Together, the fascinating cityscape of an exposed ancient neighborhood and the rich array of ordinary household objects, workshop remnants, commercial goods and stunning statuary displayed along- side it comprise an impressive addition to an institution already well deserving of its world-class standing. What we have here is essentially a completely new museum beneath the existing exhibition galleries. And once again, the Acropolis Museum new sub-floor spaces, like those above, are experiential for the visitor. Just as we "ascend the Acropolis" when we make our way upwards through the Acropolis Museum's Acropolis Slopes and Archaic Galleries, ultimately reaching the Parthenon's sculptural decorations at the top, so today can we "descend below ground" as we explore the archaeological excavation dug into the earth below the museum, with its stone walls, narrow streets, bath complexes, courtyards and collection of historical treasures that, now more than ever before, bring daily life in ancient Athens into sharp focus."
Words by editor John Leonard
Cover design by Dimitris Tsoublekas
108 - GREECE IS Athens summer 2024 bublished by Kathimerini news.
Georgios Xenos
“We don’t know after all who is really imprisoned. The one outside or the one inside? And what kind of prison is this? Many people out there remain voluntarily incarcerated. So, I would tell you that many times being inside also involves a kind of asceticism. It has a loneliness characterized by greater freedom. So it always depends on the reason for which you are imprisoned”.
Interview to Giannis Padazopoulos
Georgios Xenos was born in Athens in 1953. He studied at the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux Arts- Section des Arts Plastiques in Paris, during the years 1976 – 1982.
From 1983 to 1986 he lived and worked in Athens. In 1987 he lived and worked in Mönchengladbach, Germany.
From 1988 to 1992 he lived and worked in Berlin, where he experienced the historical events of the Fall of Berlin’s Wall. During this period, he exhibited his work in Winckelmann Museum, Stendal (June – October 1991) and in Pergamon Museum, Berlin (January – November 1992).
Since 1993 he has been living and working in Athens.
Panagiotis Marinis
I am sharing portrait photography of a very close friend and a lovely human being, the greek sculptor Panagiotis Marinis. Panagiotis is an example of folk art sculptor that frees the form of his works through his instinct and his connection with nature.
"Sculpting with tireless but wise drive the silent surface of the stone of Aegina, Panagiotis Marinis has been processing and taming its primary material for many decades, skilfully revealing its organic nature, touching its mysterious interior which, between his hands, explodes and transforms into living flesh..." wrote Iris Kritikou in 2018 with a form the group exhibition "Diachronies", in which samples of his work were presented at the Diachronic Museum of Larissa. It returns to the same museum, from July 17 to October 30, 2023, with the solo exhibition entitled "Stone Tools", with a series of sculptures that interact with selected Neolithic and Bronze Age stone tools from the museum's collection. On this occasion, we spoke with the important artist.
Panagiotis Marinis was born in 1955 in Aegina, where he lives and works until today, remaining a lover of nature and folklore and using stone as the main raw material of his work. His involvement in sculpture began in 1981 with the main stimulus being his works and meetings with Christos Kapralos, as well as the work of Grigoris Maltese. His works can be found in private collections in Greece and abroad, at the entrance of the Aegina Town Hall (work in collaboration with the painter Giorgos Chatzimihalis), as well as in the Cypriot Consulate in New York. He maintains a permanent sculpture exhibition in his Agricultural Garden in Kypseli, Aegina. He has held solo exhibitions in Athens ("The Stone He Knew", Genesis Gallery, Athens 2016 curated by: Iris Kritikou) and in Aegina (Historical and Folklore Museum of Aegina, Markello Tower, Aegina) and has participated in many group exhibitions in Museums, archaeological sites, Foundations and private art spaces in Greece and abroad. His works belong to public and private collections in Greece and abroad.
MeToo - Violence Awareness
It is with great pleasure that we announce and invite you to the 1st "Gendered Violence - Violence Against Women" Awareness Exhibition.
Baumstrasse, Servion 8 (2nd Floor) Botanikos, Athens, 104 41
June 10-11, 2023
1.30 p.m. - 9.30 p.m.
Specifically, the European Network Against Violence (ENV) is organizing a two-day event on June 10-11, 2023, with the aim of raising public awareness about domestic violence against women, sexual violence and the relationship them with our patriarchally structured society. The action is implemented within the framework of the #MeNow_MeToo initiative (www.menowmetoo.gr) in collaboration with the Olympian Sofia Bekatorou.
Through works of art, speeches, theatrical events and workshops, the goal of the E.D.k.B. is to raise concerns and tell stories of women or artists who want to present them through art and visual creation.
More than 20 artists participate in the exhibition with works of art (paintings, photographs, theatrical performances, etc.). In the area of the exhibition, there will also be a bazaar with handmade items of female survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual violence as well as volunteers of the E.D.k.B.
The exhibition will be open to the public 13.30 – 21.30. The entrance is free. On Saturday and Sunday evening there will be events (speeches, theatrical events, discussion).
Artists: Efmorfia Vallas, Dimitris Vlaikos, Stavroula Geriki, Ioanna Georgopoulou, Anastasia Giannoulaki, Kosmas Dalaklis, Electra Etaridou, Angelina Zoumbouli, Tzortzia Kosmatopoulou, Konstantinos Kalfountzos, Dora Kotsi-Felicsi, Mary Kyraki, Emmanuel La pidakis, Aikaterini Mavroudi, Panagiotis Xoulogis, Christina Papatoli, Chrysoula Skepetzi, Vicky Skotida, Maria Tsouknakis, Ariadni Phytopoulou, Georgia Handzi, Alexandra Christakopoulou, the theater group "She and They" (Elene Alifragki, Spyros Anastasinis, Tasos Chalas, Andreas Psyllias)
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/761715388965422/?ref=newsfeed
See the detailed Program here
The proceeds will be allocated for the purposes of the E.D.k.B. and covering the costs of legal support for abused women and/or children.
Vasilis & Marina Theocharakis
Vassilis and Marina Theocharaki are the inspiration and guiding force of the Theocharakis Foundation.
Vassilis Theocharakis is a multifaceted personality at the helm of a dynamic and diversified group of large-scale businesses: from the automotive industry, banking, manufacturing and healthcare, to cosmetics, digital systems and shipping.
An equally important aspect of his life is painting. Alongside his legal studies, he attended classes with the great Greek painter, Spyros Papaloukas. His first exhibition was in 1957 at the International Youth Festival in Moscow and since then he has exhibited his works inside and outside Greece, some of which adorn important public and private collections. He has been awarded the titles: Chevalier de La Légion d'Honneur of the French Republic, Archon Cartulary by the Ecumenical Patriarch and of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan. Marina Theocharaki has had an active relationship with the arts for many years, with many exhibitions and publications to her credit.
Portrait photography for Grand Bretagne Magazine.
Let There Be Light
Interview By Alexia Amvrazi | July 21st, 2022 about MYRMIΔΟNES to Greece-is.com
In an ode to his native island of Aegina, the photographer talks to Greece Is about its people, its light, and the experiences that shaped his book.
It took 20 years and over 2000 photos for Dimitris Vlaikos to decide it was time to place the soul of his work into the body of a beautiful hard-cover coffee table book that could grace homes around the world.
Titled “Myrmidones” after the name given to the inhabitants of his native Aegina (the introduction aptly explains the various possibilities of where the name originates), the book is composed of images depicting an extraordinary blend of local characters, landscapes and everyday details. The book is mostly anthropocentric, because Vlaikos has honed the art of capturing his subjects’ personal essence without guidance, a talent that has gained him a great reputation as a portrait artist and numerous assignments to photograph well known personalities.
Leafing through the book was a deeply touching experience. The way in which the photographer has captured the essence of his subjects – human or not – makes it an ode of sorts to his home island, rich in emotion, but characterized by stark realism.
Vlaikos spends half of the year in Aegina, chiefly during the summer months, and the rest of his time travels to and fro between various work projects. By creating this book, it seems as if he has established an unbreakable bond with the Saronic island’s people, land and elements, regardless of where he finds himself.
It’s apparent by looking at your book that you harbor a great love for your island.
There are amazing people living there, and it is multifaceted in a way that I’ve rarely witnessed elsewhere. Also, what I love about Aegina is that you can be sitting at a café where there’s a minister drinking coffee and at the table next to him, a fisherman – and the waiter will treat each of them with the same courtesy – or the same rudeness! Some people have described the island as ataxic. You feel and see that.
I think that has a lot to do with the fact that most of the island is flat – so all houses are on the same level, and everyone has the same access and right to light. It’s the same with the sea. There aren’t some beaches that are more exclusive than others, anyone can go to any beach, or rock, and swim. Overall, Aegina seems to bring out a life force in people, and if you’re the kind of person that wants to evolve, it offers you that possibility.”
How did the book project evolve?
The Myrmidones reached a very high level of civilization in antiquity thanks to the elements of their land – the rock, the light, the sea, the raw materials, their drive to create. And until today, these elements remain essentially the same. So the book was my way of juxtaposing the Myrmidones of the past with those of today.
I also wanted to create a book that is like an art object, a beautiful memento to have in one’s house. I put a lot of care into every aspect – including the use of only black ink, which is very rare. I collaborated with a very good friend, the graphic artist Dimitris Makaratzis, who created the cover, as well as Despina Giannouli, who wrote the texts (in Greek and English) and is my wife and writes and directs theatre plays. My professor Vasilis Artikos, whose exhibition “In drum and dance at the rock-cut churches of Lalibela” is currently on show the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, provided much advice and support, as well as other close friends.
How does the light of Aegina and influence your work?
In my research, I centered on the various elements of light. [In the book, Despoina Giannouli writes: “Thanks to the geomorphology of the island, almost all of its inhabitants can savor the light from sunrise to sunset. The paspara, the white stone and the fine-grained soil reflect the sun’s rays intensifying the colors of nature.”]
It’s not by chance that Nikos Kazantzakis lived there for 20-30 years, or Giannis Moralis, for most of his life, or Christos Kapralos, or the poet Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, and they all produced their work there – it wasn’t their place for holidays but for creative work. And today the island is home to over 100 artists, so this land, and especially its light has something special that has drawn so many creators from antiquity until the present day. Light is my tool, it’s what made me want to evolve my art.
Apart from light, what do you feel are the other strong elements that inspired this work?
I think the energy of the land plays a significant role, but that’s not something that I can define with words. In the book’s introduction to the origin of the name Myrmidones, one of the ways they’re defined is that they were “the people of the “myriad vibrations,” as Aegina was considered to be a region of strong and sacred energy vibrations, a place fertile for spiritual development.
How did you put the book together?
An important part of this book is the rhythm one follows as one turns the pages. I wanted it to create in the viewer a musical rhythm, a transition from image to image through a story of sorts, like a journey.
Hand of a farmer, Mesagros. © Dimitris Vlaikos / "Myrmidones" book cover. © Dimitris VlaikosWhat will become of the rest of the photos you’ve taken?
They will remain in my archives, and maybe I’ll use them in future. I have a space in my studio/gallery space in Aegina where, upon appointment, one can come and see exhibits.
Central distribution of “Myrmidones” is at “Lixnari Aegina” Bookstore. E-mail: lixnari@otenet.gr. Tel: +30 22970 26424. Shipments are made throughout Greece and abroad.
MYRMIDONES photo-book release
"MYRMIDONES" is the imprint of Dimitris Vlaikos' search on the island of Aegina for the last 20 years.
Focusing on people, the photographer walks a path of observation and understanding of the elements composing the place where he was born and raised.
Light, a key tool in his work, turns into an object of study in terms of its effect on the character, perception, creativity and course of life, both of the island's inhabitants and of himself. Through his lens he wishes to discover how his experiences have become the memory which influences and shapes his choices, his perspective and the aesthetic approach to his work.
The images in the book present moments from the daily life of the inhabitants, portraits of people interacting with their environment, and all those elements that make up the culture which inspires, challenges and embraces the Myrmidons of yesterday and today.
Credits
Photos © Dimitris Vlaikos
Texts © Despina Giannouli
Text editing: Natassa Ntouma
Translation: Doris Brumma
Design: Dimitris Vlaikos
Film scanning: Filmora Lab
Executive editor: Tasos Papacharalambous
Print: Smart Print
Published by: Dimitris Vlaikos Gallery
ISBN 978-618-00-3754-8
Album features
Edition: 1st edition
Cover: Hardcover
Number of pages: 178 pages
Number of pictures: 89 pictures
Dimensions: 28cm* 29cm
Language: Greek and English
Central distribution : “Lixnari Aegina” Bookstore
Contact details and orders:
e-mail: lixnari@otenet.gr
phone number: +30 22970 26424
(Shipments throughout Greece and abroad)
https://youtu.be/oRceXQTAJTE
Marios Schwab
"Marios Schawb is a creative director and a prominent representative of British fashion, having studied in Austria, Berlin and London, the renowned Greek-Austrian designer founded the brand of the same name in 2005. A year later, Marios Schwab received the British Designer of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards. One of the most important collaborations of his career was the one with the historical American fashion house Halston, which started in 2009 and lasted for two years. Among his most impressive collections was the famous Chiaroscuro collection for the summer of 2012. This season, Schwab is interested in a more sustainable, more responsible approach to fashion and production. Collaboration with Zeus + Dione offers him this opportunity. Their goal is to jointly highlight the value of proper management of valuable materials. Materials that characterize the work of the creator over time".
The portrait photoshoot took place at the Winter Garden of Grand Bretagne hotel for the Hotel Magazine.
