Windgrass, Featherston, New Zealand, by Konstantin Dimopoulos (photo sourced from Kons facebook page)
I was introduced to Konstantin Dimopoulos’ work by fellow Whitireia Journalism student Erin Kavanagh-Hall, who interviewed him about one of his newest kinetic sculptures. Below are excerpts from the article.
Konstantin Dimopoulos‘ striking and thought-provoking art works have been exhibited all over the world, but his latest work is inspired by his Kiwi upbringing.
The Wellingtonian, now based in Melbourne, launched his towering new sculpture, Windgrass, in Featherston’s Clifford Square recently.
The 8.5-metre tall brown and yellow creation pays homage to the grasses of the south Wairarapa coastline, a place the artist often visited as a young man.
”It represents the bulrushes of the Wairarapa area,” says Dimopoulos, an Egyptian-born Greek who was raised in Wellington.
Pacific Grass, Kinetic sculpture, Wellington- Konstantin Dimopoulos (Photo)
The sculpture is designed to move with the wind – a recurring theme for Dimopoulos, whose first major sculpture, Pacific Grass, was made in response to Wellington’s famous wind.
He has since gone on to exhibit his art internationally, with public sculptures in collections around the United States and Australia, and to create art installations in response to social issues.
Most notable of these is The Blue Trees, which is appearing in many North American cities.
The Blue Trees, in which he colours trees with a biologically safe blue pigment, was designed to raise awareness of deforestation.
Blue Trees-Konstantin Dimopoulos (photo)
”Art can be an incredibly powerful tool. It helps us get the issue of deforestation on to the front cover of a magazine, not the back pages.”
He is now working on a project called Purple Rain, which comments on homelessness.
Below a video of the kenetic sculpture in Palmerston North – ‘Giants Among Us’. Watch it gently sway in the breeze.
Art Speaks Action 