Found Objects

Vasilios Drakos, Master Plumber by trade, defined by his expertise in the field in which he was identified and validated. It was a world he was comfortable with, he knew well, and one that he was proud of. A few years ago that world came to an abrupt stop. A traumatic event brought him to a place where he no longer recognized himself or his work. His conquest over the trauma and return to self identity came through his profession but in an unexpected form – a form in plain sight, and one that he had never seen before.

Plumbers use solder (a melted alloy) to join two pieces of metal together, the excess solder drips to the ground and is discarded. It was in these drippings that Drakos noticed his first treasure, a sword. He shared his discovery with his partner and friend, Loretta Corbisiero, an art historian. She interpreted the sword as a representation of the Archangel Michael signifying the courage one needs to overcome adversity. In this moment, they realized they were joined together in discovering his path to recovery from trauma.

With this new meaning in mind they continued to discover more objets trouvé in terms of art, aesthetic value, and in this case, self-concept. Allowing indulgence in visual context and seeing beyond the obvious metallic and industrialized objects, they discovered a unified story waiting to be told. A story of spiritual truth, strength, and transformation.

Each piece employs a narrative facet and conveys a message derived from a spiritual encounter or moment of collective unconsciousness. Personifying these inanimate objects has created a compelling world of healing and compassion through beauty and harmony rather than chaos and confusion. Awakening the senses through an artistic narrative allowed Drakos to transform himself. The harmonious flow of their partnership was brought to light by this heightened awareness, self-determination , trust in aesthetic appreciation, faith, hope and their love for each other.