Petros Tsakmaklis (P.Kodak) is an artist, living and working in Lausanne Switzerland.
Born in Athens, Greece, in 1973, he received his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Interior Architecture from AKTO College/Middlesex University in 2002. Over the years, while working as a junior designer in an architectural office and then as a warehouse worker in the family business, he explored different art forms– from painting to sculpture with different materials (wood, wire, paper pulp).
Clay was the medium he felt most connected to and in 2008, he enrolled at the Centre for the Study of Modern
Pottery in Athens, where he followed ceramic art courses in the class of archeologist and ceramist Nikos Liaros until early 2010.
In 2010, he moved to Lausanne, where he continued to explore ceramics in his studio. He focuses on developing his own hand-building, glazing, and single-firing techniques – using a combination of materials and clays.
Petros’ work has been exhibited in Galerie Tango, in Lutry, Switzerland (2011) and the international Santorini Biennale of Arts (2012). He has also been selected among the artists to be featured at the thematic exhibition of Ceramic Art Andenne (Belgium) in 2022.
He signs his work as P.Kodak with an ideogram of his own creation.
Themes and influences:
Central to Petros’ work is the concept of idols – often expressed in sculptures combining bull- like and human figures – as a way to explore how humanity creates heroes, myths, and religions overtime. Nature, history, folklore, and music are key sources of inspiration for his work, which carries influences from both primitive art and modern art of the early to mid-20th century.