GAYLETTER

Looking at the imagery in his photos, it’s easy to assume that Athens-born photographer Kostis Fokas lives in a world of erotic surreality. A nude body is suspended impossibly on a folding chair in one photo, while a naked back arches in front of a kaleidoscopic baby blue wallpaper of falling umbrellas in the next. Colors are vivid in each of his photos, with the corporeal often shaped into anonymous depictions of the human body that leave very little to the imagination. Take a closer look, and the work transforms even further: Fokas’ work is evocative of fashion editorials and surreal art at once, striking in their ability to construct a world that is as uncanny as it is familiar. Put simply, Fokas’ photographic world is one where the strange becomes delightfully ordinary, where the human body becomes a landscape for unspoken desires and fantasies, and where very little seems to be off-limits.

Fokas, who started shooting at the age of 20 in Athens, now resides on the island of Crete in southern Greece, where he completed work on his latest collection, titled ‘I’m Not Malfunctioning, You Are.’ The project is full of Fokas’ unique brand of the surreal, placing props (condoms, masks, etc.) in close conjunction with his nude subjects. The title evokes the kind of defiance these images often elicit from viewers of the work — although Fokas is never intentionally trying to offend anyone with his photos, there’s no denying the imagery is bound to press a few buttons. But, then again, what good artwork doesn’t?

Ahead of an upcoming group exhibition in Toronto this week, we asked Kostis a few questions about his unabashed approach to nudity, using his artist friends as models, and the big plans he has for the future.
What was your first experience with photography? How long have you been taking photos? At the age of 20 I already had a huge painting collection of female portraits. A good friend of mine gave me an analog camera, Praktica, where I started photographing with great passion. It happened effortlessly, it was like continuing the exactly same thing in a different medium.

How does your artistic process begin? I started working on my personal project “I’m Not Malfunctioning, You  Are” two years ago, in September of 2012. I have long sought a meaning behind this project. However, this was something that was revealed later on in the process, when I gradually started thinking about the driving force that encouraged me to tap into my inner self. I found this very intriguing, the whole idea of revealing piece by piece parts of my darkest and deepest desires. Besides, that is the reason why I keep on working on this project till this very moment. Despite the spontaneity that seems to exist behind my images, almost all of them were already captured inside my mind for quite a long time.

The faceless human bodies in your photos often stand in for bigger themes about sensuality and self-identification. What about the human body in its simplest form appeals to you most? In my work I wish to present a new take on the human body and explore its infinite capabilities. The use of hidden faces communicates exactly that. Unlike photography that seeks to reveal the feelings of the objects portrayed through the use of faces and expressions, I shift my focus on the complete freedom pertained to the image of the human body. Stripped from its clothes, I leave it fully exposed and completely surrendered.

Many of the props you use bring an added sense of humor and surrealism to your work. How do you select the props for your photos? What role do you think they play in juxtaposition with the human bodies you display? I‘m inspired by surrealism because I do not want to explain what I do with some apparent justification. What I want to achieve in the relationship between naked bodies and props is to coexist in total harmony and not to contradict.

What other artists (photographers or otherwise) inspire your work? I was very much influenced by artists like Ren Hang and Izumi Miyazaki. In the past year my perspective towards inspiration has notably changed, so I prefer to get fruitful insights by studying the history of art. Lately I’m very interested in Glitch Art. That obviously has infected the way I create my project “I’m Not Malfunctioning, You Are”.

Alongside frank depictions of nudity, there also seems to be an openness of queer imagery in your photos as well. Do you purposefully present queer content in your photos to assist in the thematic message, or is it more something that comes naturally to you as an artist? Most of the times I expose my deepest fantasies and my addictions through my work. Though I understand how bizarre and hyper sexualized they may seem to others, it is my way to accept myself. I have spent my life quite depressed regarding my personal choices and my specifics. I use my art to free myself and not be depressed anymore.

What kind of direction do you give the models you work with? Are they friends of yours or do you commission them? I use my close friends as my models. It’s the outcome of the intimate relationship I have with them. It’s my way to push boundaries between us in a humorous way. It’s our diary of human intimacy. A lot of my friends are artists. I often consult them and they encourage me and trust me all the way. My goal is to make the person feel comfortable with me in a way. It’s very easy and pleasurable to work with my friends, because I can do whatever I want with them.

Where are you happiest? My work is an environment for me where I feel safe and happy, even though I expose myself totally!

Any future plans that we should look forward to? This coming summer I’m preparing my first solo exhibition in London. For me it is something very important, because it gives me the opportunity to show my work outside of the web, and to present it to a larger audience and get direct feedback. Ideally I would like to have the luxury of time so as to enrich my material and be able to publish a book with my photographs. This is a big dream of mine and I hope to carry it out sometime soon.

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