Nakedness

"Nakedness"

 

With Nakedness, Gallis invites us to focus on the naked body. Male and female bodies that accept to expose themselves without a trace of embellishment and "shame." Why is this? The answer lies in the composition. Overcoming shallow puritanism caused by the sight of the naked body, Gallis tries and finally succeeds in presenting the immaterial through the material. The organic material, which encompasses the soul, is the artist's means to depict the inner world of his models. The poses, not at all coincidental, trap human emotions and externalize moments that each one of us has experienced and attempted to suppress. The nakedness of the body is the instrument for releasing its contents, namely the idea contained in it. In this respect, we can assert with confidence that the art of Gallis liberates the spirit from matter, and thus it manages to reach its ultimate objective, its freedom. The artist is not interested in ordinarily expressing himself through a harmonious coexistence of content and form. The idea of Gallis' works breaks the shackles of style and moves towards freedom. His work upsets the balance, the robust and weighed classicality, and appears asymmetric and unorganized. With this "mutiny," the inner life of beauty is released and wanders uncommitted. Besides, highlighting this beauty is the scope of the artist. Beauty in the sense of truth. Everything genuine is also beautiful, even if depicted in the form of intense emotions. Therefore, the idea prevails over the medium, and thus spiritualization is complete. A spiritualization which is missing from our lives in favor of materialism and the pseudo-eudemonism it strongly promises. So, with this attempt, the photographer tries to signal the alarm. The forms of "nakedness" are our internal "imprintings," our surroundings, our true self. Hasn't the time come to change yet?

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Karpouzis Stratos Art historian-Philologist

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