Pokras Lampas for Comme des Garçons
29 - 29
November 2019
Pokras Lampas and "Comme des Garçons" in Dover Street Market, London
"Calligraphy is not only about art, it is the way to pass the message..."
On Friday 29 November, Opera Gallery artist unveiled his brand new commission for "Comme des Garçons" as a part of Dover Street Market's 15th anniversary.
Designed by Rei Kawakubo and illustrated by Pokras Lampas, the monumental installation is the largest of a series of collaborations between Lampas and Comme des Garçons in many international localtions including Beijing, New York and Tokyo. One of the world’s most famous calligraphy artists, Pokras Lampas has created a unique fusion of graffiti and calligraphy called “calligraffiti.” Lampas reframes the ancient art of calligraphy in a contemporary manner through the aesthetics of graffiti creating a universal link between street artistry around the world.
Opera Gallery Artist Pokras Lampas says “Calligraphy is not only about art, it is the way to pass the message — so, just imagine, in hundred years’ people will realize that they actually need the way to communicate with each other — and to provide humankind with the lingua franca, where all the languages are evenly represented. Here we will need to find new letter shapes, because everyone would want to see their country represented in the new alphabet. That’s why I combine all the writings I have learned so far and invent new letters which would follow the common rules.”
Adrian Joffe, President – Dover Street Market/Comme des Garçons says: “We accidentally came across Pokras’ work somewhere. We were doing a project for our direct mailers for 2019 based on typography. We were going to work with many kinds of typographers throughout the year but after we discovered Pokras in late Spring 2019, we only worked with him for the rest of the year such was the beauty and strength we find in his work.”
