When he is not skating or being searched by SWAT teams in New York, jumping into subway lines in Spain or backpacking his way through Marocco, Dimitri Karakostas takes photos of himself, his friends or anyone just as crazy. What does he has to say about it all?
Do you remember the first time you felt the need to hold a camera in your hands to make art?
Well, I don’t think I’ve ever thought of the explicit phrase ‘make art.’ I can think of being 15-16 and needing to have a Polaroid on me ‘just in case’ something happens… but I guess the phrase ‘make art’ isn’t what I thought of then and it certainly isn’t what I think of now.
Your work features an interesting mix of crazy party times and private, almost voyeuristic stills of your life. When do you know the right moment for each click?
I guess the right moment depends on the right moment. I don’t think I shoot party times because I hate parties and I hate people- I think it just looks that way because it’s a photograph. It’s easy to make two people drinking beers in an alleyway look like a party if you enjoy each other’s company. I suppose the right moment just happens, whether you’re ready or not.
The impromptu nature of your work provides plenty of opportunities for good stills. Nonetheless have you ever considered moving on to more premeditated projects?
No, I have no desire whatsoever to shoot that way. I will perhaps think of something I want to get/shoot (a specific graff writer, storefront churches, a particular trick) but I don’t obsess over everything being perfect. I don’t want to think about photography in that particular bubble of shooting just in a studio or whatever- even when I have to be indoors, it still maintains an amount of spontaneity.
The last two years have been very busy for you travelling the world extensively, holding several exhibitions. Which place has the most interesting story to say so far?
Well, between Morocco not liking us for having a backpack full of books, jumping into subway lines in Spain, being stopped and searched by SWAT teams… everything has a great story, haha. I suppose my favorite was exhibiting in Athens- we showed in a really industrial space with carte blanche to do whatever we wanted, lots of friends… a nice few days setup and show until the cops pulled the plug due to the mob in the street, ha!
Punk rockers, skaters, wasted party kids and everyday people come together in your work. Have you ever considered ‘documenting’ a different lifestyle? What would that be and in what way would you like to capture it?
I suppose my work is about skateboarding and graffiti because I love skateboarding and graffiti. Even if I shot rodeo clowns or whatever, it’d still come back to me being pegged as a skate/graff/punk photographer because of the volume of work that already exists. I’ll simply shoot whatever it is that is happening at that specific moment, it just so happens that i’m not interested in much else.
What usually takes place in your day when needing a break from work?
Wine with the wife, books, walks. Usually my break from work is different work, haha. Blood of the Young Zine takes up 90% of my time not actively taking photographs.
Finally, could you give us an idea of what to expect in the next few months from you?
I’ve been working in NY for the past few months, stacking some work for early 2014… it’s wintertime, so I figure I’ll be spending a lot more times indoors. More zines and more travel. Simple things until spring. Oh, and a few shows in NY in the next few weeks. Make some money, I need a new point and shoot. Ha!