ABOUT
ALeX CHAROVAS

As a Hellenic-born, London-based visual artist, Alex finds themself situated between the realms of art and fashion photography. Their creative inspiration draws heavily from the virility of Greek and Roman sculptures, as well as the colour palette and tonalities of the Renaissance era. Alex's artistic foundation stems from an organic and self-directed approach to learning. Their interest in photography began when they were a young. Known as ‘the one who takes the best pictures,’ Alex would use his Kodak instamatic camera for taking family pictures and personal portraits.

However, while they have always been driven by their own intuition and experimentation, Alex recognizes the value of formal education in providing a structured framework for artistic growth and development. After receiving their First-Class Honours Bachelor of Arts from the School of Arts at the esteemed University of Westminster, Alex has been honored to receive a scholarship to attend the prestigious Royal College of Art. There, they will continue to hone their craft through a challenging and inspiring MA program in Photography.

In recent years, Alex's photographic style has evolved into a style that blends the vibrant and expressive brushstrokes of painting with the crisp lines and bold shapes of graphic design. Their work is heavily inspired by the dreamlike imagery and visual poetry of surrealism, as well as the emotive and atmospheric qualities of pictorialism. Rather than adhering to strict representationalism, Alex delights in pushing the boundaries of what is possible with image manipulation, constantly testing the limits of colour, texture, and form to create unexpected and compelling results. By exploring the medium of photography from multiple angles - from the initial photographic capture to postproduction, to the final presentation of the printed image - they are able to create works that are not just visually striking, but also conceptually rich and intellectually engaging.

With their most recent body of work, Alex aims to examine the nuanced and multifaceted nature of male gender representations, while simultaneously problematising and challenging the normative ideas and practices of masculinity that have been shaped by hegemonic notions of nationalism. They aspire to create a body of work that challenges viewers to question their assumptions about masculinity, and that opens up new possibilities for self-expression and identity formation beyond the constraints of traditional male gaze. To this end, they plan to create a fusion of early photographic techniques such as cyanotype and silkscreen printing, with contemporary digital techniques. Their intention is to contribute to a fruitful dialogue between archetypical constructions of gender and modern representations of it. They believe that by creating a space for critical engagement with gender norms, their work can help to spark important conversations about social justice, equality, and inclusivity.