Interview

Nov 7

Thomas Themis Tsimerlis

T.T.T. is an interdisciplinary artist, who actively engages with his personal, familial and professional aspirations, with a college background in Choreography and Digital Arts. He currently works as a Customer Service Specialist at a VR Anatomy and EdMedTech company, where he learns about what it means to be in one's own body.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I was born in the United States with a few fond memories of early childhood, and I grew up in Athens, Greece, where I lived in a multicultural upbringing within a traditional society. I always enjoyed participating in extra curricular activities such as sports, theatre, music, writing and performance in general. This culminated to being a student at Dartington College of Arts, where I studied BA Hons Choreography and Digital Arts. I learned from and collaborated with several creative individuals who are successfully active in the art world, while I adopted an interdisciplinary approach to the above. After travelling and experiencing life's rewarding moments and difficult challenges, I throughout the years I had varying full-time job positions in conjunction with my artistic endeavours. This has led me to the point where I am now, as a Customer Services Specialist at a VR Anatomy and EdMedTech company, whom I feel honoured to be part of such a great Team. I currently attend traditional Greek dancing lessons and in my free time I spend by keeping up with my family, friends and my own creative imagination.”

What inspires you?

“Nature, for me, is a profound and potent phenomenon that constantly gives me a sense of belonging, when we get the chance to express ourselves and find a part in it. The great abundance of the interacting elements gives me optimism and hope that we humans are capable of many altruistic acts of faith and solemn vows of potential. Geometry is a chance to view the more subtle intricacies and interconnections between what we see and what we feel. To find an alignment with ourselves and those around us, to bring insights and knowledge with a sense of conviction towards what we believe, and to give back what we are given.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I search for harmonious relations between the spiritual self and qualitative existence through moral purpose and ethical values. I aspire to bring clarity with visual perception and critical thinking, and I compose myself as an embodiment of living Life as intended, by being creative. I wish to give meaning through the synergy of lines and circles, and to add perspective to the viewer's experience, by integrating different aspects of my life.”

“Geometry is a chance to view the more subtle intricacies and interconnections between what we see and what we feel.”

How would you describe your work?

“An interplay of the humane, the spiritual and the integral.”

Which artists influence you most?

“Filippo Tommasso Marinetti, Paul Klee, Alex Grey, Andy Goldsworthy and M.C. Escher have all given me great inspiration during different milestones of my creative journey. I pay honest respect to many others among them in the dance movement scene, as well as traditional artisans from all walks of life.”

What is your creative process like?

“I generally put my ideas on paper, mapping out my thoughts in written or illustrated form. I usually start from the centre of my own emotional sincerity and I expand outwards in an array of spatial awareness. I tend to explore free form and linear structure in equal measure, giving rise to my place with these. My latest work focuses on pen and watercolours because it is an enjoyable experience which implies that I spend sufficient time refining certain details. I will start something and try to finish it in one go while the ideas are clear in my mind. Part of this is being respectful to oneself, by honouring those who came before me and shall continue to create after me, in communion with one's own beliefs. An interdisciplinary artist should give equal importance to every aspect of their creative process, on na personal, and collective level.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“Artistic expression is one of the highest forms of existence, whereby one's own approach to others is a constant manifestation of exchanging, sharing, conversing and agreeing upon certain phenomena that occur. It transcends time, suspended by a coil of impermanence, where tradition and experimentation should exist in convivial cooperation. There will be a greater opportunity for Extended Reality (XR) to compliment the preparation and design of larger projects, while humans evolve with their creative aspirations. Nonetheless, I confidently believe that there will always a need for older methods among those who want to feel their work.”