We are proud to have a much talented Greek artist as one of the most up and becoming name in the world of art. His name, Panos Tsagaris his passions, endless. Mr. Tsagaris was born in Athens in 1979 he completed his BA in Fine Arts in 2004 in Canada and created his mark in the art world with his first solo exhibition titled ‘Theanthropic’ in 2005 in New York were he also resides. Since then his works have been exhibited in Berlin, Germany, Milan, Hong Kong and of course Athens at the wonderful space of Kalfayan Galleries. Yatzer is proud to present Mr. Tsagari on a personal interview and is delighted to exhibit his much influential works that inspire us .

How did you discover your passion for the world of arts ?
I started drawing at a very young age, not really to express my feeling or any passions but more for fun. I wanted to create my own versions of the cartoons that i was watching on TV or the comic books that i was reading. I really liked drawing, i was getting great pleasure out of it so i was doing it all the time, even when i had to do my homework i would be drawing all over my school books and notebooks, creating intergalactic battles etc. So as i was getting older and was about to finish high-school it felt like a natural progression to study something that evolves drawing at some level.

Were do you get your inspiration from?
Inspiration mostly comes from new knowledge. From my everyday research on the subject of Spiritualism and the Occult, and from practicing what i read and preach. Inspiration comes from my collection of old (1st Editions) books on Spirituality and Magic. Inspiration comes from "insignificant" everyday moments. A great source of inspiration for me also comes from Kim Norcott a Canadian-Swedish artist, collaborator and close friend.

What are the emotions and feelings that you experience while working?
Before i start working on a new piece, i perform a purification ritual in my studio and i also perform a short meditation session. The goal of this operation is to bring me in a state where i am as balanced and focused as possible before i start working.

Title: I am the sun in his rising
Medium: Artist`s blood and hyssop oil on paper
Size: 150cm by 100cm
Year: 2008
Courtesy of Kalfayan Galleries Athens-Thessaloniki

You created a series with the royal emblems upside down created with your own blood are very dynamic and sentimental. What are those passions that drive you to reach to such extreme measures in order to wake up people to reality?
Through my work i always try to express the fact that we are all ONE, we are all part of the One that became the Many, but at the same time it remained as One. We are divine, because there are traces of the Creator in the soul of each one of us. I want to prove visually and conceptually that all religions in their core are the same and that they express the same ideas and ideals. That the natural evolution of our souls is the Re-unification with the Divine; every single one of us will when the time is right Return to the ocean of Light where we came from.
We must realize that the only Authority that we can trust is the Natural/Divine Authority. I personally have no faith or trust in man-made authority. The drawings of the upside down royal symbols are an expression of that belief.
The series of Blood-drawings were meant primarily to capture and reflect the self-sacrificial aspect of my work. And to present the artist in the role of a martyr.

What is the process you go through when you create a series?
I first go through a period of extensive research. When i have decided on the subject or idea that i want to focus on, I start working on the first drawing (i only work on one piece at the time). When the first drawing is complete and i find that it captures and reflects the ideas and subject that i am focusing on, then it reveals to me the overall direction for the next pieces.

Explain to us in brief the beliefs of your new works, and the hidden meaning of your self portrait in one of your works?
This new series of photographs (most of them made in collaboration with Kim Norcott) are influenced by the ancient mysteries (egyptian, cretan, eleusinian, mithraic, etc) in which there were actively used mystical initiation processes to provide to their initiates moral development and spiritual awakening, as well as to provide a clear understanding of the life-cycle and their continuing existence after death. This process was accomplished through symbolic actions, mental focus and strong visual stimulation that prepared the initiate’s soul, spirit and mind.
Human relationships have the same principals underlying them as initiation ceremonies. They shape our mental and moral development, our emotional enlightenment and the overall evolution of our soul. . This series of photographic works have been inspired by ritualistic traditions, their mystical qualities, and enlightening results, as they are reflected in the close relationship of two people (in this case the close relationship between myself and Kim Norcott).

RIGHT // Title: Initiations (The outpooring of The Logos)
Medium: Digital Photogragh
Size: 115cm by 75cm
Year: 2009
In collaboration with Kimberley Norcott
Courtesy of the artists

What is the future like for Pano Tsagari?
At this moment i am in my reading/research period. I am expecting that this period will be over by the end of August and in September i will get in the studio and start producing some new works. The ideas that interests me these days are focused on the Cosmic hierarchy and its relation in regards to the hierarchy of the soul. I am also currently working on some new proposals for some new projects, one on a new 2 month long performance, hoping to present it in a museum/institution sometime next year. I am also working on my upcoming solo exhibition at the Galerie Davide Gallo in Berlin (scheduled for 2010). And on a possible solo exhibition at the State Museum of Contemporary Art of Thessaloniki in the summer of 2010."

 What is a phrase that best describes yourself and your beliefs.
There is this part on the Initiation ceremonies of the first 3 degrees of Free Masonry in which the initiate is asked from where and to where he is traveling to. His answer is from West to East. He then asked why he is traveling from West to East. He answers "In Search of Light".
That`s what i am going after in my life (and with my work)
"In Search of Light"