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Journey through time
After over thirty years (1973-2005) of parallel activities in both visual art and design,
we felt the need to chronicle and present this special journey of ours. Although
we chose to create a book in the ‘orthodox’ fashion, we finally ended up following our
own individual way, as always. We experienced the process of preparing this edition
as a true challenge, since we treated it from the outset as a visual project in its own
right; as one more ‘journey’ into art, in which it is the travelling itself that counts most.
We started this book with the idea of letting our work flow freely and express itself
outside any confining patterns. Visual projects, design creations, one-off pieces –
everything coexists with one another in harmony. The various stages and milestones
in this course could not but be documented in this edition. After all, it is
the multifaceted character of our projects that has defined our work and brought it
where it is today. It was our conscious decision to let all aspects of our work
and creativity emerge side by side and thus demonstrate their interaction
and contribution to shaping our personal artistic identity.
This open approach to our rich archive was further reinforced by our deliberate
decision to avoid a chronological or thematic presentation of our creations. Instead,
we invite readers to travel back and forth around all aspects of our work and thus
identify themselves with our pursuits in all directions. We did not wish to create
a typical monograph, and so we decided to carry out the task of this book ourselves.
Inevitably, any course off the beaten path means added difficulties and challenges.
So as the book was going through its various stages of creation, page by page,
there were more than a few reconsiderations and changes in both form and content.
This final form was preceded by three different, complete versions in the course
of the last ten years. To us the challenge was clear: we had to manage to instill
in readers the need to travel with us in the world of art, of our aesthetic quests;
to enjoy, simply by leafing through the book, some forceful images, unique creations
and a feeling of eager anticipation for the challenges we set for viewers and which
we had to face ourselves on each occasion. Another thing is that we wanted to depict
the atmosphere of the time.
Throughout this process of recording and creating, which went through all those
stages of rethinking and change, we had some invaluable support and input from
the visual artist Diohandi and the graphic designer Phaedon Paraskevas, who shared
our passion in completing this project and stood by our side.
Other valuable contributions were made by art critics and journalists, excerpts
from whose writings are included in the book to make it better understood and more
complete.
We were able to carry out this complex project thanks to the complete
and systematic archiving of all our work from the beginning of our career, in the form
of photographic material, super-8 film and video.
As we said, the book covers the years from 1973 to 2005. It concerns
the evolutionary course of two artists who have been travelling together and enjoying
their course through art with all their heart, whether it crosses the land of quests
and the avant-garde or stops at international events and distinctions.
We are proud of the fact that this book already reflects the spirit of the new member
of STUDIO METAPLASI, Sophia Zoubouli, an accomplished designer with her own
views who was born and shaped as an artist within this environment.
Fine art, interior design, furniture and unique projects all participate in a dialogue
with no dividing lines.
We invite you to share this journey, and we thank you.

Zouboulis - Grekou

Athens, April 2005