The Man

Costas Dafermos of Emmanuel and Maria or Bantelokostas, “The Man”, was born in 1928 in Axos. Was a member of a large family with 5 boys and 4 girls. Difficult years since so many children to grow up because there was no much food, so older children used to work 6 months or even a year as shepherds and farmers. Costas worked since childhood in foreign hands to help grow the smallest of the brothers. And then the gain was almost zero, since might be working a year as a shepherd and earn 10-15 lambs as payment and return to his village. The good thing was to find a meal, they say, and eat, this was hard at that time.

He married Antigone Patelarou and gained 3 children, Basil, Charalambos and Maria. Since he lived all his life in Axos and the main occupation was farmer. He died aged 75 in 2003.

This project is made looking a photo I took shortly before he died. What caught my attention were the striking features of the person who gave a wild beauty, with characteristic large moustache. The older people sometimes say that the man is good and soon bouncing shown by his moustache. So I named the sculpture, “the man”.