Greek writer Nikos Papadopoulos started playing around with his young sons toys in 2013. “We were pretending to go to bed using Playmobil – and it gave me the idea to recreate scenes not only about home life, but the whole of society,” he said in an interview with the British Guardian.
The 36-year-old writer from Thessaloniki, spent around 900 euros in Playmobil figurines, which he later used in order to portray political and social life situations in a satirical way. He then photographed the figurines and posted the pictures on the Plasticobilism fan page.
According to the Guardian, the refugee crisis is one of the main issues that he covered. “In one work, a crammed boat sails the ocean while a mother cradles a young boy – which calls to mind the three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on the Turkish seaside,” wrote the newspaper.
Another one of his works shows the toll that austerity measures and capital controls have had on the Greek people. The photo shows an ATM with legs dragging a chained man who is struggling to pick up money from the ground.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not be missing from Greece struggle story, so her figurine poses in a Viking hat holding two Greek politicians on leashes. “These two men symbolize the prime minister candidates of my country, who I see as Merkel’s pets,” said Nikos Papadopoulos.
However, the German Playmobil company was not happy with Papadopoulos’ art, taking legal action in order to force him to shut down his page. Ignoring the signs the young writer opened a second website, ultimately compromising and agreeing to clearly state that Playmobil is not involved in his creations.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
