DIMITRIS GKETSIS INTERVIEW

Dimitris Gketsis is a visual artist based in Athens, Greece. He uses mythology as the source material for his investigation into how post-colonial and patriarchal value systems have shaped our current time, fusing classical vocabulary with contemporary sensibilities.

Female figures, hybrid entities, and animals dominate his ornate works. In contrast to the ubiquitous representation of the white, male ‘Man of Reason’ ideal in classical art, Gketsis responds with a Cyborgian vision of hybrid, manifold beings proposing new hierarchies and subjectivities. In his works, the boundaries between stereotypical definitions of male and female, black or white, human or animal merge.

Curator Leo Babsky interviews him.

First, tell us a little about yourself and how you got into art. 

I was born in Albania and immigrated to Greece just before the fall of the Albanian dictatorship, and I have lived my whole life in Athens. As for my relationship with the visual arts, this has probably always existed in me, but some incidents in my life helped unlock my relationship with art! When I was 13 years old, in my first year of high school, my school was right across from the Deste Foundation, which houses works from the collection of Dakis Joannou. I didn’t know what it was back then, but one day, we saw the door open and entered after school, and a new world opened before my eyes. It was the first time in my life I had seen something like this; it looked more like a fairy tale than a typical art exhibition – even now we are talking, some of the works from that exhibition that I saw up close have impressed me in my memory. I don’t know if this defined me, and at the time, I didn’t understand what I was seeing, but somehow, it marked me and enchanted me deeply!

As this is for CRUSHfanzine and your works are populated by god-like, sexy figures, who is your girl crush? 

Any woman who radiates dynamism and passion fascinates me! I find myself literally mesmerized by such appearances. It’s as if they are self-luminous. They fascinate my vision, and this has nothing to do with appearance or external characteristics. It’s simply a sensation and an energy you create in the atmosphere.

And who is your boy crush?

Dark-haired boys with intense humor and personalities who know how to assert themselves are independent and have a will for life and many goals.

I haven’t been to Athens for a long time, but I saw someone there about ten years ago, and it was quite wild at that time; the area where The Breeder Gallery is was pretty dodgy with a lot of junkies and sex workers, everyone would get on their motorbikes after coming out of a club or bar etc. – all a little bit lawless. Is it still like that, or has it cleaned up a bit? 

Yes, I understand exactly what you mean! The area has changed to a degree, but not as much as you might imagine. The Breeder Gallery is in the area with the red light district, and I find this relationship and the interaction that exists very interesting. It is complete normality for me because you can also see my studio on such a street; for me, it has become commonplace. I could not live in a perfectly protected environment; all these contrasts and alternatives give me a lot of stimuli to create works because nothing in our life is perfect; we all consist of too many aspects and unpleasantness and pleasure.