Alexis Marcou is a British-Cypriot illustrator based in Larissa, Greece. Since 2008 he has collaborated with global brands including EA Sports, the NFL, Nike, PepsiCo and BMW, producing work that sits at the intersection of traditional craft and digital art.
His signature process is graphite shading that dissolves into digital colour, creating a fusion where the two disciplines become indistinguishable. Alongside commercial work, Alexis pursues self-initiated projects that explore darker conceptual territory. He has maintained deliberate visual anonymity since 2007 so you won't be seeing a profile picture of him here.
Below, he shares some of his work Afters: The Bittersweet Residue – a series of illustrations where the debris of a dessert course reveals the subtext of a civilisation.
By subverting the traditional aesthetics of Chinoiserie and Willow pattern porcelain, these pieces juxtapose domestic indulgence with scenes of human tragedy and modern surveillance. The illustrations were created digitally using a technique that mirrors a traditional graphite and watercolour analogue process.
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Summer Fruit Pie
"A slice of summer fruit pie on a plate where floral decoration and a horse-drawn carriage sit under the eye of a surveillance drone," says Alexis. "Pastoral but watched."
Tiramisu
"The half-eaten tiramisu sits alongside its own unfinished sketch," explains Alexis. "The porcelain pattern carries fragments of an Italian summer, ordinary moments of movement, music and freedom."
Karpatka
"A Polish cream cake on Willow pattern porcelain," says Alexis. "The plate carries a woman pulling cakes from an industrial oven, the abundance of production set against the quiet defeat of the uneaten dessert."
Puff Pastry Cake
This is a collapsed slice of puff pastry on a plate where the pattern tells a different story. "A mushroom cloud, a plane caught in the blast, a woman watching from a distance, a bird feeding from a pomegranate branch. The cake and the apocalypse, equally inevitable," says Alexis.
Cherry Jelly
"A cherry jelly on a plate where two peacocks flank a kissing couple, a woman submerged in water, a jellyfish and scattered floral elements," explains Alexis.
Soap Opera Sponge Cake
"This is a sponge cake topped with cherries, surrounded by figures from a Victorian melodrama," says Alexis.
Strawberry Cheesecake
"A slice of strawberry cheesecake on a plate alive with butterflies. The most ordinary of endings," says Alexis.
You can find out more about Alexis via his website, Instagram and Behance.
