The series looks at and investigates the complexities of gender, sexuality, and identity through pictorial representations of the human body. In an attempt to capture the social panorama of contemporary life, the artist offers a discreet look at the body as a site of desire, fantasy, submission, and oppression.
Unlike sentimental depictions or explicit narratives where sexuality and desire have been co-opted to fit in the broad swath of social and public life, Fokas’ approach to the body is rather detached. Like a Cartesian mechanical eye, Fokas observes from the position of the spectator, scrutinizing himself and his subjects with a tantalizing pleasure. Bodies and fragmentary body parts set in bizarre and vulnerable positions are juxtaposed with wild landscapes and the striking beauty of summer.
Fokas boldly strips his model-friends down in front of the lens; yet, their poses are far from sexualized. A physical and spatial tension unfolds, as playful and surreal corporeal formations engage in a choreographic interplay of attraction, seduction, detachment, and resistance. Flirting with autonomy and vulnerability, his subjects are often witnessed as being in distress. Their desire to seduce and to connect is nothing but profound. Undoubtedly, in Fokas’ visual topography the human body fights, rebels and resists, infinitely.
Kostis Fokas is a photographer based in Greek island Crete. His work focuses on the interplay between youth culture and eroticism and widely reflects aspects of his inner self.
While on stage, he uses his models as toys, giving them the freedom to interact and playfully participate in the photographic process.
By using and integrating various media and objects like sex toys and masks, his objects are not necessarily stylized or staged; rather, he is photographing for the moment, capturing his subjects somewhere between reality and fantasy. Most of his subjects are covered up, hidden or nude, serving as provocative, playful and sometimes quirky. Through this process, he constantly redefines his identity and exposes himself via the subjects presented.
