Lotek is a mythical character who has been putting up stencils around Athens, and sometimes beyond, since 2011. The crumbling walls of Athens and the abundance of graffiti and street art lends itself to self expression in the urban gallery. The trains are covered from end to end, the walls pasted with posters, sprayed with slogans and covered with art. The state is weak and it feels like the end of the world sometimes and creativity is free and unhindered.
The name Lotek, is derived from the short story by William Gibson called Johnny Mnemonic. In this story, which takes place in 2021, the world is ruled by corporations. An anti-authoritarian gang that exists in this world are called Lo-Teks, a seemingly primitive criminal gang who are in fact not low tech at all, but high tech hackers, amongst other things. In this dystopian vision of the future the Lo-Teks cover themselves in myth and fight power. So I liked the name and stole it as my own and sign it next to little creations that I put up in the night. |