We have the lowdown from Gregory Kara

Lovely to chat with you. You wanna tell us a little about where you are from?

I am originally from Greece, grew up in Athens and I’ve been living in London for 7 years working as a makeup artist in the fashion, cosmetic and entertainment industries.

How did you get into being a creative make-up artist?

I’ve always explored and experimented with my personal image as a form of visual communication and expression. Make up and cosmetic application is a natural extension of this. I ‘ve always been inspired by the visual world and my surroundings including Art, indigenous tribal aesthetics, architecture and sometimes the grotesque. I find beauty in the unexpected!!

For me the use of cosmetics/make up which has been used by humans from the dawn of time to express status, symbolism, ideology and belief systems and it constantly enriches and inspires my artistic vision. Whether this be the directional looks I create or beauty applications to make my clients feel empowered confident and the best version of themselves.

Your face designs involve a lot of red, white and black. What is the underline theme using these particular colours?

Black, Red and White are colours that have an intense effect on the human eye. They’re the first pigments created from natural substances and used by many traditional cultures, from early cave paintings to tribal body adornment.

I am obsessed by Japanese Kabuki which is another reason I adore Red/White and Black.

In ''Kabuki'' Art (Japanese Theatre) these colours are used to represent many things:

Black is the colour of the night, and of "evil" and also represents ideas such as power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, and mourning.

Black, sumi, is the colour of mystery and solemnity; the colour of the night. Black expresses the depths of the unknown, and encourages the imagination of a different world from that of daylight realities.

White is the colour of pure and light.

Black and White stands for mourning and cheerless occasions. For example, traditional garb for a funeral is black and white. Black for the loss, and white for their passing onto the heavens.

Red and White, Kohaku, is pronounced as one word in Japanese. Ko means red, while haku translates as white. Their use together immediately signifies happiness and celebration to the Japanese viewer.

This bold colour pallete is also used to increases the dramatic stage presence/performance viewed at distance.

I also use Gold and Silver for their symbolic power and visual meaning in cultures around the world.

Tell us something about your looks you bring together, how do you keep coming up with ideas to re -inventing yourself?

I started very simple and this developed naturally along with my skills, I aim to push my artistic vision further with each and every project. I have always worn eyeliner because it’s my favourite make up element. In the beginning I focused on exploring the boundary of what eyeliner can be or could be? Creating abstract, extreme and graphic variations of this which became homogeneous with my love of Kabuki.

Can you give us a sneaking brief description of your ouch - fit for Berlin Berlin on Saturday July 15th and it’s your debut and what have you heard about the night - are you excited?

I know that it’s a massive party and that a lot of creative and beautiful people come to have fun and enjoy the looks and wild music! This is very inspiring!!!

I am super excited to be part of Berlin Berlin and can't wait to create something amazing and have fun!

My outfit will be something very me, something you can see on my Instagram but will be live, mind-blowing and in front of you.

What performers and artists inspire your eccentric creations and who do you follow?

I am inspired by countries, cultures, and tribes from around the world. The idea of how ancient beauty and aesthetics can be translated and expressed in modernity and within today's beauty industry.

Some of the creatives and Cosmetics brands I follow are: Topolino, Alex Box, Keko Hainsweeler, The_wigs_and_makeup_manager, thatgirlsussi, VforVoid, ErykahBadou, Bjork, KTZ....

What's been three of your favourite creations and why?

My latest look on Instagram which explore traditional Chinese aesthetics, I focused on the decorated face, accessories and adornments This is one of my favourite looks to date.

Another of my favourite images from my Instagram looks is the look with arrows which pushed my cosmetic skill and the idea of interlocking geometric forms and abstraction. This creates and illusion which is simple and powerful both at the same time.

The third look I adore is the look focused on architecture 'triangles’. This look took me more than 6 hours to complete in order for the graphic lines to look sharp, symmetric and angular. It was also really difficult because I had to stay in the same position for all these hours until is was complete.

All my make up looks take 4-6 hours just for the make up alone and some of the very intense make ups looks use special techniques and processes in order to achieve the symmetry and outcome I desire.

Favourite make up brand and why?

I adore many make up brands and I have a lot of different brands in my make up kit but personally, I love the brands that come from Japan like Suqqu or Shue Uemura because of the quality! Also, I use a lot of MAC, Kryolan and Makeup For Ever. and brands where they are more creative and have am extensive variety of products.

Gregory Kara makes his debut at Berlin Berlin: The Birthday on Saturday July 25th at Egg London alongside leading lights of London’s extraordinary cabaret scene including Plastic Sister, Luke Harris, Beatrix Carlotta, Bliss Theadora, Kokaine Tyson, Ruby Bird and Syban. With the legendary electronic music pioneer Daniel Miller (Mute Records) heading up the Sisyphos room alongside Yetti Meissner, Fidelity Kastrow and Jonty Skrufff whilst the Rumpelkammer room features Peter Schumann, Bo Irion and making their UK debut Steyoyoke Records with Nick Devon, Dahu and MPathy. Egg Ldn residents Ireen Amnes, Kyle E & Fidel and joined by Tafkanik’s Homostash crew in the Loft with Kuntskammer taking over Apothecary with Lewis G Burton, Kassandra Powell & Guests. All info at www.egglondon.co.uk or www.facebook.com/berlinberlin:LDN

See all the creative Gregory Kara looks @Thegregorykara