Art and movement with Hari Koutlakis
Remember when you were a kid and really wanted to draw on your bedroom walls, but the olds said no?
Or when you moved into your first rental and begrudgingly signed away your liberty on a lease that stated ‘no blue tack on the walls’? Well, Hari Koutlakis has made a career of doing what every creative kid and liberated young tenant has craved: turning bare walls into something beautiful. Probably because he’s darn good at it. Only a few in this world can turn liters of black paint into a wall worth eyeballing. Hari’s latest exhibition, Move Like This (supported by The Adelaide Fringe and Daily Grind), is about to wrap up at Good Bank Gallery in South Australia and is presented in two parts. The first is a display of fifteen of Hari’s paintings. The second part is his installation Enjoy The Ride: the completely painted inside of what was skate shop Daily Grind before it moved. I chatted with Hari about the exhibition and life as an artist.
Where are you right now?
In my studio in Wayville. I share this space with a bunch of other creatives; we’ve been together for the last two years. It’s me, Dave Court, Vans The Omega, some digital artists, Shaun, Miles, Fraz, and Max, and also Michael Carney, who’s an amazing oil painter, and a collective I'm also part of called The Bait Fridge.
That’d be fun bouncing ideas off each other all the time.
Yeah, it's good. It’s fun... Can be a bit frustrating sometimes (laughs) when everyone’s all suggesting different ideas on what I should do. It’s good, though, it's really fun to be able to hang out with friends every day.
“I actually painted the whole room during a heat wave. ”
Your exhibition looks super cool. How’s it been for you?
Really cool! It’s funny ‘cause I’ve been crazy busy with other projects straight after and before it, so I haven’t been able to fully digest it. It takes me a while to process these sorts of things. It’s been amazing, though; the opening night was really beautiful. I actually painted the whole room during a heat wave. And the day before starting that, I did another massive job in the Garden Of Unearthly Delights (at the Adl Fringe), where I painted a 10x14 sq meter dance floor.
How the heck did you get through painting in a heat wave?
Just tunnel vision, to be honest. Needed to do it, there was nothing else about it (laughs). When I have to do something, I just seem to forget everything else around me and do it. I was lucky, too ‘cause I had people come and help me, just filling in some bits. Also, lots of Powerade (laughs). So funny, I, like, never drink Powerade, but for some reason, the whole time that I was painting the room, I was drinking, like, two Powerades a day. I think I built a little addiction to it (laughs). I’m good now; weaned myself off it. Also, I was running off to the beach for swims when I had the time. It was fun to do it, though, like any opportunity I can get to paint big things, I’ll do it, regardless of the weather. I chase the sun a lot and go around painting in hot weather, so I’m pretty used to it. I like it.
How did Move Like This come about? Have you always wanted to paint a room?
Well, I’d done it before. About four years ago, I pitched the idea to a contemporary gallery here in Adelaide but didn’t get it. I was at a share house at the time, and it was an... interesting house. So I just did it (what was pitched) in my bedroom there before I moved out. I had this little room, it was like two and a bit by two and a bit meters. Hell funny... I boarded up the windows and spent like six weeks painting it all, then had a ‘one night only’ show in the house. I was still really just learning to paint at that point—I was kind of just drawing a lot back then—so it was this fun challenge. By the end, I was getting a lot quicker, and yeah, from that, I got work with a festival and painted a shipping container for them and just kept going from there. So Enjoy The Ride (the room installation for Move Like This) is, like, my fourth iteration of a room. But this is obviously a lot bigger and it’s open to the public during the daytime, like, you don’t have to be at a festival or my share house to see it.
Photo by Ryan CantwellI’m fascinated by this share house show, were you still sleeping in the room while painting it?
Yeah, (laughs) it was fine. The only problem was I boarded up the windows to paint over, so it was pitch black. Normally I don’t even have blinds in my room—I like waking up with the sun—so I didn’t like that part of it. It was alright, though... I did get approval from the landlords, by the way (laughs), but under the condition I painted it back to white after. Which was totally cool, cause for me painting it back to white was, like, the most beautiful part of the process. It was quite meditative to make something over a long time and then erase it straight away; it was a really beautiful feeling and allowed me to move on to the next thing quite quickly.
What sort of feedback have you received from Move Like This?
It’s been wild and beautiful. I’ve been down there just hanging out at the gallery and I’ve met people from all over Adelaide who’ve driven down to see it. It’s just nice having crew come down to see it; people that know my work and that’re fans of my work. It’s just beautiful. Every day I’m there, I’m meeting new people that’ve come for it. And it’s in McLaren Vale, so it’s like an hour’s drive (from Adelaide) for most people. It’s cute, really nice.
“...from a young age, I guess I was just exposed and connected to so many beautiful people who were aware that we all have the opportunity to create and connect.”
How long does it take you to paint a room?
Enjoy The Ride took about six days. I could’ve done it quicker if it wasn’t so hot. But it just depends on how I’m feeling, no longer than a week for most things. Some walls I can do in a day. It’s easier when I’ve got good black paint and a good clean wall.
Photos by Jonathan Van Der KnaapShowing my art-illiteracy here, but do you use any special tools to paint a mural?
Just a brush. It’s called a ‘rat’s tail’. This is it here, it’s the brush I use for everything and how I do all my lining. Also, I sometimes use a spirit level and string, and a pencil of chalk to draw it out.
How did you get into art?
I’ve just always loved it, even growing up, like, I was really lucky that I came from a pretty alternative family. A few of my family members and family friends are artists and I got taken to art schools as a kid. Then I just did heaps of other interesting things, I did Capoeira—which is a Brazilian dance/martial art—from age 8 to 15 or 16. That exposed me to heaps of wild communities, like, I got to go to things like Rainbow Serpent Festival when I was ten and perform there, and I performed at many other festivals. So from a young age, I guess I was just exposed and connected to so many beautiful people who were aware that we all have the opportunity to create and connect. Capoeira is also where I feel the movement in my work has come from. The flow has been transferred into how I make my movement-based lines along the walls. It's a dance.
“That’s all, really, just giving back to this feeling that I get when I see something and get really amped. I want to make things that really excite people, or whatever they feel from it... ”
Then in high school, especially in years 11 and 12, I just started leaning really into visual art and the whole street art/graffiti world. Just loved it. And after school, when I was 21, I fell into a big art collective/studio called Tooth & Nail which was in the heart of Adelaide city. Through that, I got to work and hang out with all these insanely good artists. Shout out to my art dads, Jake Holmes and Josh Searson.
I studied Visual Art at uni for a little bit but kinda bailed on that... wasn’t for me. I had a teacher tell me that I wasn’t really fit for university, and I was just like, ‘Yeah, I reckon you’re right.’ So then I bailed and just worked alongside artists in Tooth & Nail. During that time, I also linked with people like Dave Court, did loose mentorships with people like Henry Jock Walker, and connected with a big art collective called the Bait Fridge. The Bait Fridge consists of so many amazing artists, so definitely had my fair share of people to make art with and learn from.
What do you hope to achieve through your art?
I just love being able to recreate the same feeling and connection I have when I see something inspiring or fascinating. Things that get me feeling good or excited and jazzed up, y’know? Things that make me ask questions: ‘How have they done this? What is this about? Why do I like it? What is it that attracts me to it?’ I just want to be able to create that same moment and feeling for other people. That’s all, really, just giving back to this feeling that I get when I see something and get really amped. I want to make things that really excite people, or whatever they feel from it... just to give feelings, I guess. And also to share and open up the space; to connect with other people, and through my work say to them, ‘Carve your own way, do your own thing’. That’s what I try to do with my work.
It’s just fun to do it. I use my whole body to make the pattern and it’s all subconscious, like, I don’t have a plan, I kinda wing it, which is fun for me ‘cause then I get to look back on what I’ve done and discover it and process it in other ways. It’s like a state of flow when I make the marks on the wall.
Looking at your work, I would’ve thought you’d be planned out to a tee, like painting a wall, you can’t just scrunch it up and start again… But you just go with the flow?
Yeah, (laughs) I got a system. It goes section, pattern, movement. So I make a section, I make a pattern within that section, and then I move my whole body over the pattern—but within that section. My movement never clashes with itself. It only clashes with the pattern… it’s kinda hard to explain.
With your signature style, is there a reason you do most of it in black and white?
It’s just nice, it’s something I’ve always done. I like black and white and monochromatic things like static and strobe light. It also allows for the shape and pattern to really sing through, rather than it being about a particular colour. Black and white are pretty neutral, ya know? Like it doesn’t involve anyone’s ‘favourite’ colours.
What do you find most challenging about being an artist?
Not being able to switch off. I’m always thinking about what I’m going to do next or contemplating what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. Self-crippling doubt, I think (laughs). Like trying to constantly create new things and then just understanding the process. I dunno, all of it, really... I’ve rolled the dice, this is my life. But it does go well, I’m lucky that I’ve been able to do alright with it. I also do some art therapy and work with a young girl with autism twice a week. That’s really rad, making paintings with her. And I also do some art mentoring with other artists with disabilities. I juggle a few things.
Photo by Dave CourtBut as hard as being an artist is, it is really beautiful. I enjoy doing it. I wouldn’t—and couldn’t—do anything else. I’m also very lucky to have a big collective of artists around me, all artists, from musicians to poets and dancers. Constantly being able to riff with them is awesome. I love just being able to make things, share ideas, and have fun, y’know?
“I’d love to be able to go home and switch off from my life and my job. But it’s not really like that.”
Yeah, don’t get that in all jobs, hey.
Nah... Well, everything’s got pros and cons, I guess. Like, I’d love to be able to go home and switch off from my life and my job. But it’s not really like that. At the moment, it’s no chill. All my art buddies that I’m working with, we’re all just super burned out. We’ve been making stuff for the last two years, nonstop, really. But it’s fun, we do get to have a lot of fun while we do it.
Any upcoming exhibitions?
Nah, not really. I’m about to head off and do a bit of travel. I’m from an island in Greece and I’m going back there for a couple of months to paint, hang out, and have fun. Then I’ll duck off to Tokyo. A friend’s opening a pizza bar there, so I’m gonna paint a mural for him. Most Adelaide winters, I get away and paint. I don’t like the cold, I’m a sun baby. I kinda just hop around, chill out, have fun, and paint in the sun.
You have such a cool life.
(Laughs) It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
If you’re reading this before April 9th, check out Hari’s exhibition ‘Move Like This’ at Good Bank Gallery, SA.
Photo by Che Chorley