Iakovos Volkov: ''είμαστε ok'' ( we are ok ) is a sentence that i wrote 3 years ago in almost neglected building next to a burning house. Just one and half year later someone opened a souvlaki shop and named it like the way i wrote it...

Sunday, June 15, 2014

''είμαστε ok'' ( we are ok ) is a sentence that i wrote 3 years ago in almost neglected building next to a burning house. Just one and half year later someone opened a souvlaki shop and named it like the way i wrote it...

in Lemeso Cyprus...

about this diary

I started painting graffiti on walls when I was 15 and living in Thessaloniki. Over time, my thoughts about art evolved. I began creating installations in deteriorating areas of the city, mainly in abandoned factories. Since moving to Athens in 2014, I have frequently been invited to participate in gallery and museum exhibitions. For these venues I created sculptures that were site specific, independent freestanding works or pieces that could be installed on a gallery wall.

Primarily I work with discarded things - plastic, clothes, textiles and everyday items are my basic materials nowadays. I see value in things overlooked by others. Flowing from my history as a graffiti artist, I began building word sculptures. More recently I have also explored working abstractly, building objects and installations focused on composition and materials.

I deeply feel one can create meaningful work from small, ordinary things found abandoned on the street. Carefully observing my environment and experimenting with discovered materials, I construct meaning from the discarded, meticulously reconfiguring what society has worn out and broken. I restore life into forgotten places with what I have saved, giving a reason to consider places no longer noticed. For me, this work is essential.