Paris Giachoustidis – Urlaub in Deutschland
For this solo exhibition he has created a series entitled Urlaub in Deutschland (Vacation in Germany). Using photographic images from postcards, he realistically renders holiday scenes in bright acrylic colours on paper. Using references to art history, as well as productive disturbances in the form of targeted artistic interventions, Paris Giachoustidis’ Urlaub in Deutschland succeeds in unsettling viewers, forcing them to reflect on what they have seen. He thus creates highly topical, socially relevant works that sharpen our perception and potentially impact our everyday life, provoking a more critical attitude when dealing with images and pictures in general.
The pictures of digital mass media form the basis of Paris Giachoustidis’ paintings. Who authored them, who holds the authority of interpretation, and how does this influence the image of a person, an entity, or a (sub-)culture? The artist’s work revolves around such questions of image production and reception and their effects. Depending on the thematic orientation of the found material, he discovers new, appropriate forms of painterly appropriation and alienation.
For this solo exhibition, Giachoustidis has created a new series entitled Urlaub in Deutschland (Vacation in Germany). Using photographic images from postcards, he realistically renders holiday scenes in bright acrylic colours on paper. In addition to small groups of happy-seeming people, recurring motifs include camper vans, bathing water, lush green meadows, carefully trimmed hedges, and bright blue skies. Idyllic moments are captured: a couple flirting in a pool, drinks with a view of the water, (sun-)bathers at a lake surrounded by mountains.
But unlike the postcards themselves, these scenes are disrupted: suddenly, fire appears in the centre of the picture, seemingly unnoticed; lightning strikes; or grey clouds of colour emerge, evoking both a street and a large cloud of smoke. These elements are unsettling and encourage critical reflection on idealised representations. Is the weather really always pleasant on holiday? Are all German waters clean and blue, the surroundings spotless, the masks funny, and the people happy? Of course, we know this is not the case. And yet, do we not still prefer to send postcards that suggest exactly that? To what extent do we ourselves deceive, idealise, or turn a blind eye?
Idyllic depictions from past centuries already make it clear that humans prefer to move in intelligible, seemingly safe spaces where everything foreign—and thus potentially disturbing—is dismissed. But the idyll is a one-dimensional projection. The bolt of Eros strikes, colour—and the ice?—within the winter landscape begins to melt, the caravan goes up in flames. These threats conjure associations with current social developments. How long can they be ignored?
Using references to art history as well as productive disturbances in the form of targeted artistic interventions, Urlaub in Deutschland succeeds in unsettling viewers and forcing them to reflect on what they have seen. Giachoustidis thus creates highly topical, socially relevant works that sharpen our perception and can potentially influence everyday life, provoking a more critical attitude toward images and pictures in general.
Paris Giachoustidis (born 1990 in Serres, Greece) was strongly influenced by the 1990s and the Young British Artists. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Art from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin. His work has been exhibited extensively in Germany and Greece, including at KWADRAT Berlin, KINDL – Centre for Contemporary Art, Kunstzentrum Bethanien, Max Liebermann Haus, and Galerie Russi Klenner. He received the NEUSTART KULTUR grant in 2020 and the Art Prize Haus am Kleistpark in 2017. His works are held in several private collections.
