Alexis Vasilikos [1977, GR]

Alexis Vasilikos’ Black Matter(s) series is a blend between straight photography and highly manipulated digital collage. Together they represent two juxtaposing realities. Abstract images that use photography as a raw material, compositions made of scratches, dust, optical noise and light, and less processed, dark, enigmatic, photographic works which stand between traditional analogue photography and abstract painting.

As he usually does with his edits, Vasilikos pulls images from his archive, which he then recontextualizes by mixing them with newer works, thus drawing lines between past and present. His work is based on principles of simplicity. It evokes silence and stillness in the mind as Vasilikos himself has been utilizing his work as a meditation practice for more than 20 years. As is the case here, the darkness he presents is not dramatic, it is detached and perceived as another aspect of light.

Alexis Vasilikos is an Athens-based visual artist who works primarily with photography. Since 2012 he is co-editing Phases Magazine, an online fine art photography magazine.