Endogenesis
Endogenesis: /ɛndə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪsɪs/: growth from within
The idea of a human being trapped by his/her own feelings, thoughts, ideas, phobias, sentiments, and weaknesses, and how s/he can break out of this circle of oppression and/or depression was the point of reference for this work.
The global pandemic with the consecutive lockdowns that contributed inevitably to some people’s further isolation and introversion was a definite source of inspiration. The use of trees in this series of artwork is representative of the space where humans are trapped in. This idea is based on the ancient Greek nymphs, the Hamadryads, who lived inside the trees. Clay has been used to get the footprint of the tree trunk. The tree element is eventually presented as a petrified object that the human who lives inside is not able to escape from.
The clay ”tree masks” capture the exact moment that the human is trapped in the tree, whereas the different poses of the nude human body indicate the state of loneliness, despair and exhaustion that has reached its limits and bears no long. It’s now time to break through, time for liberation.
The work is positive and optimistic in its essence. People eventually do break those “tree masks” and set themselves free. The clay fragments around the installation visually represent this.
John Kolikis is a Greek-born London based photographer is working as a freelance photographer across Europe shooting for publications, organizations, companies, and artists. His work has been published by several Greek newspapers & magazines, his work was used by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Onassis Foundation