Thanos Zakopoulos honors pine tree with evocative installation at Ekies Resort
HO-MA-GE, a profound new installation by artist and designer Thanos Zakopoulos, has been unveiled at Ekies All Senses Resort in Chalkidiki, Greece. Created in 2025, the work embodies a deep meditation on loss, regeneration, and ecological interdependence.
Zakopoulos, co-founder of the renowned CTRLZAK Studio, transforms a fallen Pinus Pinea tree into an evocative sculpture that redefines the role of art in confronting environmental challenges. The installation highlights the silent yet vital presence of the Mediterranean stone pine, a species deeply rooted in the region’s cultural and ecological heritage.
Through HO-MA-GE, Thanos Zakopoulos offers a tribute to a tree that once thrived in the Chalkidiki landscape. Rather than discarding the deceased tree, he guides its transformation into a meaningful artistic statement.
Its trunk is carefully charred using a traditional preservation technique similar to the Japanese Yakisugi method, which strengthens the wood and protects it from decay. This act of controlled burning reflects the duality of fire—destructive yet renewing—and elevates the tree into a monument of endurance and reverence.
Complementing the blackened trunk, Zakopoulos reimagines the tree’s lost canopy with a shimmering mesh of copper and brass. This metallic crown will naturally oxidize over time, developing a living patina that mirrors the slow rhythms of nature.
The oxidation process is not just aesthetic—it represents transformation through time, reminding viewers of the beauty and inevitability of change. This poetic gesture counters the violence of wildfire with a vision of quiet resilience and healing.
Set within Ekies All Senses Resort, a member of Design Hotels, the installation seamlessly blends into a landscape designed around sustainability and respect for nature.
The resort’s dedication to natural materials and its holistic design philosophy make it an ideal setting for Thanos Zakopoulos’s message. HO-MA-GE becomes more than an artwork—it becomes part of an ongoing conversation between people, place, and nature.
Thanos Zakopoulos’s body of work consistently encourages reflection on human impact and the broader ecosystem. As a professor and thought leader, he bridges disciplines to foster awareness of our entanglement with the natural world.
With HO-MA-GE, he continues this mission, challenging viewers to see trees not merely as background, but as sentient participants in our shared environment. The installation stands as a quiet but powerful reminder of what is lost—and what may yet be reborn—when we choose to listen to nature’s voice.
All images by Elias Joidos, with courtesy of Thanos Zakopoulos https://thanoszakopoulos.com/
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