Leafing through your life is like holding an old album filled with black-and-white photographs. Grigoris was born on the island of Syros, Greece. He remembers himself as a child, sketching girls in swimsuits in his notebooks, never imagining that one day he would see them come to life in the pages of 1960s newspapers. “It was a coincidence,” he says with a smile. That’s how he began collecting clippings: full-body photographs, beauty titles, smiles that gleamed on paper. Since then, his eye has learned to seek beauty not only in a face, but also in light, form, and movement.
As he grew older, he began painting the female bodies he once admired as a boy. His memories filled with color; the pages turned into canvases. And when amateur theater appeared on the small Cycladic island where he lives, Grigoris couldn’t stay away. He wrote comedies, directed friends, and dressed laughter in dance and imagination.
Today, he continues to create. He never retired from the joy of expression. His art is his way of remembering, laughing, and sharing. As he says himself, “My memories are my most precious treasures, and every time I touch them, they come alive again in color.”
Why did you retire or why are you still working?
Why did you retire?
Why are you still working?
It was March 2007 when I was presented with the opportunity to retire under Greek legislation, even though I could have remained active in my job for a few more years.
However, the flame of my artistic side had always remained lit in my mind, perhaps because I lacked courage. The ancient Greeks used to say, “He who dares, wins.” I, the modern Greek, did not dare when I should have. Instead, I chose the security of a comfortable office job.
Yet in March 2007, the idea of having more time to devote to theatre and my other artistic interests fascinated me. It was as if something was telling me: “Modern Greek, dare! It is never too late, even if only for an occasional victory!”
And so, faced with a choice between the comfortable environment of my office, with my beloved armchair and powerful computer, and the free time to pursue my artistic interests, I chose the latter.
Today, after so many years, looking back and taking stock, I avoid giving a definite answer as to whether I made the right choice.
What is enough for me, however, are the many memories from the road I walked, a road so full of noise and light. That is why I named it Boulevard of Dreams.
Life expectancy 2023
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