The influence of the Athenian urban environment but also of natural elements and materials is often evident in artists from Athens. Emmanuel Chousakos, known by the brand name CHOUS, not only draws inspiration from these -material and immaterial- elements but also experiments with their limits, their capabilities and their utility. Marble, wood, bronze, glass and rope are the stars in the object and set design he has been working on since 2015.

He states that a heap of marble fragments excites him. This feeling in combination with his cultivated aesthetics and his knowledge of crafting and constructing contribute to the creation of this unique aesthetic style of his objects. Each fragment is a piece of pure material and the emphasis is given to the method of connecting two different pieces. It is a simple, yet elegant and powerful design, its roots are drawn from the Greek soil and it is inspired by the ancient world. Here are some of the highlights of his projects:

Tetris #2

This object functions as a game between different materials and levels. The pieces of "recycled" marble and polystyrene are joined in a direct and emphatic way, such that their different qualities seem to balance out. The design of these volumes, without taking into account their exact use, renders the object functional, while at the same time it can stand in the space as a sculpture

Tetris #2 | Image: chous.org

Kions

For the series of containers entitled "Kions", Emmanouil CHOUS experimented with the forms and dialogue between the glass container and the marble piece – both circular in cross-section. The robust yet fragile objects – an ode to the rapidly disappearing art of Greek blown glass – strike a balance between transparency and obscurity, as they take advantage of the properties of Pentelian marble and blown glass.

Kions | Image: chous.org

Tentacles etc

This object collection proves that the reuse of recycled raw materials in design can in itself be the central idea of design. Used ropes are stabilized with the help of special processing, in order to create thin seatings or coffee tables, which "float" in any space where they are placed.

Tentacles etc | Image: chous.org

On the occasion of the "Birthday" exhibition, which ended on May 8 at the KN Group architectural and design office in Athens, we spoke with Emmanuel Chousakos to learn more about his unique design.

Still from the “Birthday” exhibition | Photograph: Giannis Fragkos

What sort of feeling were you left with after your first personal exhibition? You describe it as a result of a creative “labor” with objects of affection and poetry. Tell us a little bit more.

Presenting a big volume of work through a personal exhibition constitutes a great challenge. The creator is largely in charge of the aesthetic result in its entirety and bears this responsibility, while he is called to construct and communicate an independent narrative or in our case a “poem” articulated by objects and aesthetic terms, which can not include dishonesty or evasions. It resembles, one might say by analogy, a public act of nakedness. The title and the conceptual connection to birth, therefore, parallel the first appearance of an autonomous "organism", a single body, which has not materialized effortlessly but has emerged as an outcome of multiple fermentations. It is in other words a "reincarnation", or simply a way to reinvent oneself creatively. And like any successful "labor", it is accompanied by sweet tiredness and a feeling of deep redemption.

From where do you draw inspiration for the composition of your forms? Is the fragment that you initially acquire a catalyst for the design?

The starting point for me is the material itself, with all its "dimensions": its physical properties, the conceptual and symbolic associations that have been shaped by its use over time, the historicity generated by past human gestures. Inspiration for me is also the fascination that can arise from the randomness of a composition or the apparent paradox in the relationships of material - form - use - inclusion, which fatally contains the element of surprise and raises the question of how one could filter and transform these elements into an act of design. For example, I encounter such elements abundantly in Athenian post-war architecture, the natural environment and cooking.

Still from the “Birthday” exhibition | Photograph: Giannis Fragkos

It looks like marble is one of your favourite raw materials. What does marble signify for you? Do you think you have exhausted the experimentation with its abilities and uses?

My return to Athens a few years ago, after a long stay abroad, underlined to me the universal presence of this material in the city -and like in no other city- with its various versions: structural or decorative, elaborate or simplistic, tasteful or tasteless. Marble was the first occasion for my initially artistic experimentation with three dimensions, which then developed into my engagement with the discipline. I was captivated by the marble fragments with the stories they carry, as containers of previous creative action, their imperfections, which impart emotional weight, and by how a piece of luxurious material, once it has fallen into disgrace, can be recycled, redefined and exist in a new condition. If you respect the idiosyncratic personality that marble carries, it can gift you with endless paths of expression.

The "Tentacles etc" project differs from the rest since it is based on a single and light material. How did the idea come about?

At first reading, this work seems out of place and is really more of a game. Hence it was not included in the exhibition. However, it maintains in its own way themes that seem to characterize my work: the research around alternative uses of materials, the relationships of void-fullness, hard-soft and heavy-light, which form seemingly delicate balances. This also constitutes an experiential experience common to the rest of the works, based on the sequence of optical illusion - surprise - curiosity - humour.

What does the future hold? Are you targeting audiences outside of Greece?

I am surely interested in the promotion of my work abroad, with participation in exhibitions and special projects. I usually seek a dialogue of the works with the space, so in particular, I look forward to commissions concerning the creation of in situ works in special and of any nature spaces and locations.

Still from the “Birthday” exhibition | Photograph: Giannis Fragkos

We thank Emmanouil Chousakos for his answers!

Gallery: Stills from the “Birthday” exhibition | Images: Giannis Fragkos