Greetings Alexis, it is a pleasure for us to sit down with you and navigate your wonderful mind. Please, if you would, share with us how you came to be such an impactful developer of 3-dimensional architecture and landscapes.
I started using 3D software and making renders as a hobby. I needed a creative outlet while working as a copywriter in advertising. Luckily for me, computer-generated worlds were something that always interested me. Since then, I’ve spent most of my waking hours watching tutorials and teaching myself to use 3D software.
Do you believe in the saying that “less is more”? What do you think it is about the simplicity and beauty of clean forms and minimalist spaces that give us a sense of awe?
I do believe that. I do also think it’s more difficult to create compelling empty spaces than ones that are populated for interest sakes. Everything is amplified in minimalism, not the other way around. You have to be very careful. Maybe that’s why when it works, it really transcends your expectations.
How much does your work reflect your lived experience architecturally? South Africa has a distinct and colorful character, are its various characteristics reflected in your aesthetic, or are your pieces purposely divorced from what you experience every day?
I don’t think I consciously try to create spaces that reflect or move away from my immediate surroundings. However, I grew up on a smallholding, outside of a big city. I think my past dictates more what I create. Maybe everything I’m making is just me coming to terms with my past.
Many of your pieces remind me of the beauty of travel and renown locals across the world, do you intend for us to see your images and wish we could be translated there? If so, what do you think we would gain by partaking in these idyllic places?
I do want you to want to go there. But I also want you to understand that you can’t. I want you to be at peace with these places existing and not necessarily needing to be there. Not everything in this world needs to be accessed to be appreciated.
Your pieces could be made out of real materials, would you ever consider teaming with architects to make your dreamscapes actual? If so, which countries would you choose to build in?
I have talked to architects before about this concept. I don’t think I would need a specific country to realise this. Maybe a country where it’s cheap to build?
Beauty and perfection seem very important in your work, which makes me feel that you are an idealist, are you? If so, can the ideal ever be actually lived? If not, why does it remain important to still strive towards it?
I think maybe I could be described as an idealist, but not a perfectionist. I think the perfection you might notice in my images comes from a lack of it in me. There’s a lot of questions in that question. I’ll address perfectionism. I don’t think it is necessary. I think perfection cannot come from perfectionism. When we overwork something, we lose its beauty.
Do you agree that the world today lacks places of serenity to hide in? What do you think would happen to us as a species if man-made beauty ceased to exist? Could nature as it is ever be enough?
There’s a lot of questions in that question. I’ll address the first question. I don’t think we lack places of serenity to hide in. It depends on what you want. Do you want somewhere serene, or do you want a hiding place? I don’t think those two things need to co-exist. We can hide wherever, just turn off your phone and go for a walk… and if you know-how, you can find serenity anywhere too.
Your work seems directed towards the future, and your spaces seem like masterpieces where 3d versions of ourselves could live through new technologies. If we ever made such a tech where we could exist in virtual reality full time, what do you think this would do to the human spirit?
I think there’s a theory that this is already happening like we’re living in a simulation. So you could think about that both backward and forwards. What did we use to be like before this simulation and what will we become when we all move into my worlds. I think, for one, it’ll be very hygienic in my world. Which is quite the topic at the moment right.
All images courtesy of Alexis Christodoulou, shared with permission
