MARINA KARELLA
BORN WITH A PENCIL IN HAND

I was born into a family of Industri-alists, and grew up always holding a pencil, smudging the walls of our house. While working, I understood the true value of work. I realized this is the way doors open; this is also the way you make acquaintances, which enrich your life. The experiences you accumulate, your journeys, replenish your thinking, and take you a step further down the road.

Giannis Tsarouchis helped me conceive what artistic freedom really means. Through him, I saw a world I had never even dreamed of! Three times a week, I used to go to Evzonon Street, where Giannis Tsarouchis lived, and I entered into a magical world. There was loud music; Greek, Brazilian, opera…Tsarouchis’ home was full of handsome boys, one better looking than the other. I was dazzled… I was just 15 years old. One boy would do ballet pirouettes in one corner, while another would dance zeibekiko (greek traditional dance) in the other! I remember, Tsarouchis, always in a philosophical mood, smiling due to my enthusiasm while masterfully cooking his signature peas. This was the time when I had the deepest, most intelligent, philosophical conversations in my life: next to Tsarouchis, in his studio, or just walking with him on the street. He would search for a rag, then he would have the ability to magically transform it into an extraordinary costume!

Later, great actor Dimitris Horn pushed you into scenography. How much of a blessing is it for a young person to collaborate, at the begin-ning of her journey, with such super-stars of the arts?

Horn taught me my first big lesson in life. He had come over, to visit my parents. I was 19 years old. He saw my drawings on the wall and on the spot and suggested that I make the costumes for «Thomas the Two-Sided», the theatrical play he was involved in. In horror, I replied that I don’t yet possess the experience to undertake such an important project. He said to me: «Listen to me, my Marina, if you do not take the opportunities that appear in your life and instead, you wait until you become perfect, you will not manage to get anywhere!» Of course, I took the opportunity and I loved Takis Horn! We did many projects together. An essential collaboration, full of sun, dazzling light, constant laughter as well as theatrical tears.

Greece, Paris, New York… Turning points in your life but also in your Art. If you were asked to name one person who played an important role in your work and influenced your way of thinking in each of these cities, who would you mention?

We lived in Paris, we lived in New York. Two very important stations in my life! I met Alexandros Iolas in Athens, a man with courageous ideas and a deep knowledge of art. He would always offer opportunities to young people. He showed trust in me and organized my first exhibition in Paris. At the same period in time, an ingenious couple with ideas and artistic courage became our friends: Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinquely. They presented a new approach to the artist’s creativity and life. For an artist coming from a scenography background like myself, these were truly important steps.

The only answer to this question I can come up with is that this is what I have known to do since I was a child; and that is the only way I can feel completely free. The struggle with the material and the journey you embark on when you start a project, gives you the sense that everything is possible.

You married a member of the Greek royal family in 1965. Your husband then relinquished his rights to the throne for your sake. In spite you were coming from an affluent fami-ly of industrialists, at that time, in-termarriage was considered a big problem. But your marriage led to a shared journey of many years, 2 beau-tiful daughters and a great artistic career. So, is it true that love always prevails at the end? What was your experience from all this time?

Naturally, at the time we got married, the mentality was not the same as to-day. At 1965, marrying a commoner as a member of the Royal Family was in-deed an issue, but it has become com-monplace today. We, however, led our lives freely, along with our two beloved children. And since you asked me, I will say it again: Yes, love always prevails! As Einstein said, one thing he realized in his life was that the greatest force, far more powerful than power exerted by the di-vision of the atom, is love.

Mrs. Karella, you and your husband have left your mark on the human rights arena, as you have founded «ELIZA», a foundation against child abuse. How did «ELIZA» come about, what is its mission and what is your vision?

I must first tell you that despite the difficulty that exists when one attempts connecting harsh reality with art, I be-lieve that the «eye» of the artist, when free, penetrates ever so deeper into the subconscious and matches artistic vi-sion with the vision of a child, who also needs to be free and to dream of a world without abuse, this earthly hell.Finding this parallel quest and being driven by Eliza’s tragic death, my hus-band and I began to envision a life with-out abuse and therefore, along with some good friends, we founded «ELIZA».

In our country, as was shown by the Greek «me too» movement, abuse of both children and women was a taboo for many years. We had recent revelations of sexual abuse and harassment by female athletes as well as actresses and actors in the fields of sports and entertainment. Do you think that this movement will be short-lived, or is there any real hope that at some point it will be possible to put an end to all this? In Greece, and perhaps other European countries, some forms of abuse, and es-pecially sexual abuse, were «traditionally placed in a «cycle of silence». So I would say that this is not just a taboo subject, in the sense of social prejudice, but a tradi-tional attitude of an entire society. Of course, I believe that there is hope that all this can be stopped. This is exactly what «ELIZA» works for and even more, it aims to prevent this behavior and to quickly make it both recognizable as well as treatable. Today, perhaps more than at any other time, the State is ready to face the problem and to mobilize together with us and all those who fight so that children will have the childhood they deserve.