Fragrance brand Thematikos successfully opened its third installment of a three-part art series inspired by Greek myths in Athens, Greece on Sunday, December 14.
Their residency at Athens gallery Art Number 23 has seen the Thematikos team successfully present all three exhibitions there this year.
Thematikos is owned by Melbourne-based mother and son duo, with Con Panagiotopoulos leading this art series. Con studied perfumery in 2023 in Paris and the exhibitions merge his passion for fragrance, storytelling, and art to showcase Greek myths.
The first exhibition, Seasons, centered on Hades and Persephone; the second, Siblings, focused on Apollo and Artemis; and the final instalment, Seduction, explores the love triangle between Ares, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite.
When Con and his mother Nicole first started their business in 2019, they began by mixing fragrance oils and used what each god and goddess would smell like as their guiding principles. While this initial idea was put on hold, Thematikos have finally been able to return to their interest in mythology with these exhibitions.
In 2024, I saw a preview of Seasons in Melbourne before it opened in Athens, and I was taken aback by the team’s attention to detail. Every element was considered, from the layout of the space to how each character was depicted through art and fragrance, and even the use of flowers to represent the changing seasons.
The mix of these varying mediums created a unique energy and space where the myth could be retold and absorbed through all the senses.
For each exhibition, Con has paired with an artist to bring his storytelling to life. The first two featured works by George Raftopoulos and Anthony Tartaglia. Their most recent exhibition showcases artwork from Lex Pan, a Greek Australian artist known for her colourful and provocative pieces.
Con spoke with The Greek Herald about his collaboration with Lex and the conclusion to his year-long project.
“The practices kind of lend themselves to each other,” he said. “On one hand the fragrances, which are linked to the gods and goddesses, and that’s my medium, and Lex’s is more the visual element. A sense of smell and the visual senses come together to kind of tell the story in a multi-dimensional way.”
Making Athens their home base for the exhibitions was an easy choice for Con.
“The fact that they’re Greek gods and goddesses, doing it in Athens, in the ancestral homeland itself, is pretty epic, especially doing it so close to the Acropolis which is obviously so significant and meaningful,” he said.
Lex attended the first exhibition, met Con there, and their collaboration on Seduction followed.
Con’s motivation comes from taking action rather than waiting for perfection.
“You get to the end by doing it and having a go,” he said. “Had we not done the first [exhibition] overseas we would’ve never met Lex and this opportunity would’ve never come along… it’s amazing how things kind of come together… It’s a testament to putting yourself out there and doing it.”
Living in Athens during each exhibition allowed Con to see the city at Easter, Christmas, and in summer.
“Being able to see Athens through that seasonal change was really important for me to visit it for inspiration and see how things change in a city that I’m normally used to going to in summer,” Con said.
He valued switching off his “Melbourne brain” and fully immersing himself in Athens’ culture and art.
Con’s process for each part of the series involves approaching the myth from a different angle. In Seduction, he chose Hephaestus as his main character and has reinterpreted the story for modern audiences.
“We wanted to tell the story from Hephaestus’ perspective,” he said. “A lot of the times he’s been depicted as being quite jealous and I think our interpretation goes to show that he doesn’t really mind too much and is happy being back on Olympus where he belongs… which is a much nicer way to tell his story.”
The choice of fragrances comes from Con’s perception of the characters. He described creating the scent for Ares, the God of War, and using metal notes to create smells of “dark coppery metal” and a mechanics workshop, and a raspberry “flashy red” note to emulate blood and the fruits of victory.
“We mix until we’re happy with the fragrance and more importantly, until it actually pays homage to our depiction of that character,” he said.
Con hopes visitors of the multi-dimensional Seduction had their interpretation of the god or goddess somewhat altered after reading the story, smelling the fragrance, or seeing Lex’s artwork.
The most rewarding part of the process for Con has been sharing this work with Melbourne and Athens audiences. He finds it important to be “doing something a bit more impactful that brings in others.”
Thematikos plans to keep telling stories through scent, hoping to present a condensed version of the series in Melbourne and to continue re-telling myths in Athens.
