All you need is Greece: An artistic project full of Greece by Karolina Rovythi
Full of colors and images that exude Greece and Hellenism in general are the creations of conceptual artist Karolinas Rovythi. Her artistic project under the title “All you need is Greece”which consists of a book of the same name but also of related videos which are under the auspices of the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT) transcends generational boundaries and spreads all over the world promoting Greece, the landscapes and the people in the best possible way. her.
The creator herself does not spare efforts and positive energy, she paints the country, captures her experiences and shares with everyone her passion for blue and white colors and the power they contain.
Recently, Carolina climbed the highest peak of Greece, Mount Olympus and made a Greek flag in an unprecedented way.
She recorded her exciting ascent in a short film directed by him Ari Katsigianni and her Uterine tapes sending a resounding message to the whole world that the power is within us and that is what Greece gives us.
“In this holy place,
the blessed place,
you will join the light
you will feel the energy
the love,
the longing to listen to nature,
to remember traditions,
be inspired by history.
Here you will experience the Greek spirit,
what goes in the heart,
the Panlibertaro!
The one that takes you to the highest peak
and you accomplish the impossible.”
Karolina Rovythi
The film premiered online on October 28, 2022that is, on the day of our national holiday, on Karolina Rovythi’s YouTube channel and social media.
Her book “All You Need is Greece” and the films as mentioned above are under the auspices of the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT) in an action that contributed to the promotion of Greece to the whole world as well as to the nomination of Olympus as a World Cultural Monument and Natural Heritage of UNESCO.
The initiator and creator of the whole project, Karolina Rovythi, spoke to “Periodiko” about the effort she is making.
Magazine: What is All you Need is Greece?
Karolina Rovythi: My album “All you need is Greece” is a collection of colorful, bright and dynamic works that showcase the beauty, spirit and strength of our country. My purpose has always been and has always been to promote Greece worldwide and to strengthen Hellenism even in difficult or troubled times.
All my works are based on my conviction, which is purely experiential that “All we need is Greece”! For me, Greece is love, romance and encompasses everything: The sun, the sea, fun, warmth, history, tradition, hospitality, so if someone needs to experience fullness with all their senses, the only that has to do with being in Greece.
My goal was that everyone who flips through this album, looking at my works, will feel everything they need, see themselves in there, want to live it, feel fulfilled!
Magazine: From what need did All you Need is Greece arise?
Karolina Rovythi: It all started in 2012 during a period when Greece was being tested by the crisis and while I was living abroad I felt this impact. Every time they visit Greece I meet people sad, frustrated with anxiety and when I talk to them, they tell me that they feel helpless and at a dead end. This was all “working” in me and I was… burning, until I watched a speech by global brand strategist Peter Economides at a Google travel conference in Athens. That’s it! The spark was lit. His speech was about the need for the Greeks to find their way out of the crisis and he referred to one of the most inhibiting expressions in the Greek language: “It’s not possible”. I remember specifically how he said: “We must get rid of this ‘NOT’ (I can’t) and stick to the ‘DOES'” (It can be done). This went viral on social media. He became a strong voice for a new generation of Greeks, determined to create a new Greece.
So this was my creative… “wake-up call”! I realized that I could create works to inspire, motivate and “enlighten” my country, instead of focusing only on its anxieties and darkness. So I used my art to say my ‘It’s done’.
I painted on a huge canvas the Greek Flag (“the crying greek flag”) giving new life to its iconic blue and white through a pattern of white teardrop stripes. In this piece, the flag – like the country and its people – is shown standing strong and proud, even as it hurts and cries.
Magazine: What did you want someone to feel when flipping through the book?
Karolina Rovythi: My dream is this album to make Greece known in every corner of the planet. To get into the hands of people who have not completed our country and to give birth to the desire to book a ticket and come to experience all that is presented through this album. Let Greeks and people who love Greece browse through it and identify, smile, connect. I would also like it to be the most wonderful gift. Why would anyone pick up a box of sweets on a visit and not a book like this that can find a permanent place on the coffee table? Why wouldn’t someone gift a stranger all of Greece in a book? A book addressed to all the people of the earth, since the images and emotions speak!
Magazine: The edition is under the auspices of EOT and is prefaced by its President, Mrs. Angela Gerekou. How do you feel about that?
Karolina Rovythi: I am truly honored that EOT embraced my book and that a person like Mrs. Angela Gerekou believed in my vision and I felt that we are looking towards Greece in the same direction, to take it… everywhere, far and high. I am very happy that on the occasion of my book I met such a wonderful person, honest, full of enthusiasm that he transmits.
Magazine: What did you try to include in the book? What patterns, images, traditions, parts of Greece?
Karolina Rovythi: My goal was to marry the old with the new, but not in the cliché sense of the phrase. I took timeless symbols to bridge ancient history with modern times, combining them with our country’s heroic past and creative present. It is a set of works that for me embody the essence of Greece.
Some of the ones I single out because they were created with a strong emotional charge are:
“The New Tsarouchi Air”, when the crisis was at its peak, highlighting in the work how.. . “We can do it”, because we Greeks can do it and overcome any difficulty!
I used the famous tsarouhi shoe (worn by the Euzones, the Greek Presidential Guard), an item with tradition and heritage and “redesigned” it so that it “reflects” the new age of Greece, without losing its identity.
Another work of mine, “The Greek Butterfly” symbolizes change and rebirth
while Turkey clashed with Greek forces on our border in Evros (2020), he created “Stand with Greece”, with a fist grabbing a lightning bolt from the Greek flag, in order to support the Greeks of Evros in my way.
Also, the project “Greece I love you more than ever” visualizes my strong feelings, but I believe also of all those who saw and experienced the terrible fires in August 2021.
This work was also printed on t-shirts, prints, etc. and the proceeds were given entirely to the non-profit organization humanitygreece.org with the aim of supporting with my own small efforts the Greeks affected by the fires.
A few words about the creator
Karolina Rovithi was born in Germany and studied graphic design and advertising. Since 2002 she has worked as a creative director in advertising and publishing companies (Lymberi Publishing, Lambrakis Publishing, Imako Media, Unlimited Creativity). This has a decisive influence on her artistic expression and development. Her years of experience creating commissioned works and finding unique and original ways to use them using various media have helped develop her ability to combine art with ideas, concepts and images. As a child of the 80s, her art is heavily influenced by the aesthetics of that era, as well as contemporary art styles and movements.
Her works have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad since 2002. She has also participated in public art projects such as “Cowparade Athens” and “Hearts in Athens” while she has designed and created numerous artworks on behalf of private individuals and businesses in Greece and abroad.
More about Carolina:
Website: carolinerovithi.com
Instagram: @caroline_rovithi
youtube: Caroline_Rovithi
Facebook: Caroline Rovithi: Artist Page
Order the book here: https://keybooks.gr/product/all-you-need-is-greece/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx_yrtc_q_AIVi-5RCh1k4gu9EAAYASAAEgIjxPD_BwE
or contact: [email protected]
For artwork inquiries: https://allyouneedisgreece.gr