For the past 26 years Apset has been leaving his colorful mark on walls, hospitals, schools and trains. From the creek in Vassilika, Thessaloniki, where he had his first graffiti back in 1998, all to way to London and Paris; from Korydallos in Piraeus and the Hilton in Athens, all the way to Syros, Kavala and the Peloponnese. He has never taken the time to count how many graffiti he has painted in Greece and abroad, nor in how many countries he has left his signature. Wherever he goes, even during his vacation, he always carries a sketchbook with him, filling its pages with drawings, like a travel diary. Most times he ends up painting a wall alongside a local graffiti artist. “There’s a remarkable solidarity amongst graffiti artists. It’s a universal web,” he explains.

While most people return home after a trip with souvenirs in their bags, Apset goes the other way round: he opts to leave something of his own behind; a graffiti born through discussions with the locals and after teaming up with a homegrown artist. He gets often invited to festivals, where he takes the chance to interact with people, building the proper conditions for such an endeavor to be realized. In his first steps, the thought of turning graffiti into a profession seemed unthinkable. “It was a hobby that served as a way of expression. It was a thing among close friends, for ourselves. It had no deeper purpose,” he points out before adding that he is in the process of living his dream.

The people he hung out with while growing up were graffiti and tattoo artists, rappers and skate boarders. In other words, street culture shaped him as an artist and brought him close to Akis Giousmis and Theofilos Papadopoulos, with whom he co-owns and runs a studio/atelier in the center of Thessaloniki. The most radical change he has experienced throughout the years is no other than the questions he addresses to himself. The walls in big cities or villages, in underprivileged areas or in famous landmarks, offer him the chance and joy to get in touch with people.

“Off the Grid” studio, situated in 33, Platonos str. in Thessaloniki since summer 2023, fulfills a more introverted part of himself, allowing him to dismiss all social dictates. “In the atelier, I have the liberty to let go of the dos and don’ts, to break free from all sorts of rules.” It is a safe space for all three of them, as it feels like a second home to them. “Good vibes with your partners is a precious asset. Each of us has his own style – a good thing as it stirs a useful communication and exchange – but we all share a common logic in our approach,” comments Apset, while noting that the atelier’s first year was “something like a warmup. Things are now starting to roll.”

He is currently gearing for dozens of projects, in Nafplio, Athens, the center of Thessaloniki, but also abroad. He is also taking ceramic courses and takes delight in making and painting objects that lighten up a space, such as vases. As to how walls and vases blend together, he immediately detects my puzzlement and provides me with an answer: “There are no boundaries or limitations to what I do. I try to look at the bigger picture and see it as a whole. Walls, ases, constructions; it’s all about the painting and art, and the various forms it can take,” he concludes.