As Plasticobilism introduced on the internet, he went viral, claimed the message and wrote on his blog: “Happy father, unhappy Greek. I don’t see any sacrifice of me getting a place, except maybe the ones I did to buy Playmobil to my son. They lifted me off the couch and I don’t mean just to play with him … “.
Nikos Papadopoulos, who made his artistic activism as Plasticobolism, resistance to Greece in the crisis, calling for awakening, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a scriptwriter from Thessaloniki passed away in his 46th year.
Anxious, intelligent, socially active citizen, talented and multifaceted Papadopoulos was a screenwriter in television series (central scriptwriter of Big Bang, Lapd and Familia, while he has written episodes for over 10 series aired on MEGA and MEGA 2019 has been a candidate for MEP with the navigation of freedom.
As another Banksy, a militant and enemy of anti-populist politicians, Nikos Papadopoulos talked about the battle-in-law against repression forces, racism, anti-immigration circuits and emerging systemic fascism using games.
“I use a symbol of our innocence to talk about all the inhumane and hard that happens around us,” Nikos Papadopoulos said of his work as Plasticobilism.
Papadopoulos “borrowed” his minor son’s games by creating compositions with a strong political and social character by investing in the “ideology of plastic satire”.
For Nikos Papadopoulos, plastic little ones were a tool for calling for a wake up against the multiple eggs of the snake.
“It’s a message to those who care only for themselves and do not give a damn to the people who suffer from war, while in an ironic way, the only thing they want is a safer and better life for them and their children.”
People enslaved to ATMs, Golden Dawn ready to take advantage of dissatisfaction, tourists under the sun with refugees around, Nikos Papadopoulos used toys to re -tell the European humanitarian crisis and the company of small, plastic people wanted to interfere with of.
Speaking to The Guardian in October 2015, Nikos Papadopoulos talked about how it all started.
It was when he was playing with his eldest son John-Marios. “We were pretending to go to bed using Playmobil – and gave me the idea to recreate scenes not only to life at home, but for the whole society,” he says.
Since then, he has been devoted to his venture. He spent about 900 euros in the games to create dozens of compositions in his living room studio and then posted them on his blog.
His first work was to celebrate World Day to eliminate violence against women (November 25). Shows a woman with black eyes. “When I saw this photo, I felt creepy,” he said.
Nikos Papadopoulos then focused on the refugee crisis.
In a project, a cramped boat sails in the ocean, while a mother looks at a young boy – something reminiscent of three -year -old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose body was washed on the coastline of Turkey.
“With this photo,” he says, “I wanted to remind people that there are no illegal immigrants – only immigrants.”
In another picture, a scene on the beach (based on a real photo he saw in the news) shows tourists on the island of Kos as refugees arrive by boat.
“In the real photo, her mother and son came from the sea and a woman lying on a sun lounger turned away to avoid refugees from spoiling her vacation,” she said.
In its version, a mother in a red burca carries a child to the coast – while a woman who is sunbathing in bikini lifts her sunglasses to see closely.
“It’s a message to those who care only for themselves and do not give a damn to the people who suffer from war, while in an ironic way, the only thing they want is a safer and better life for them and their children,” he said.
Papadopoulos talked about the Greek financial crisis, with an ATM machine dragging a bank customer along with a chain -it was when our banking machinery allowed us only 60 euros at a time.
“It was like all these people were slaves to the machines – so I called this photo bitch of ATM. The essence is: To be afraid of empty people instead of the permission of ATMs. “
“I feel there is no dignity or pride in my country, there is no independence or justice”
“It was like all these people were slaves to the machines – so I called this photo bitch of ATM. The substance is: to be afraid of empty people instead of the permission at ATMs »
In another composition (all full of creepy truths), Papadopoulos depicted German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a Viking hat holding two Greek politicians with straps, eating both euros from a dog bowl.
“What is happening in my country has deprived people of hope, optimism and smile – three things that are intertwined with the Greek people,” he said.
“I feel there is no dignity or pride in my country, there is no independence or justice.”
The most controversial pieces made by Papadopoulos depict a fan of the far -right Golden Dawn, attacking a brain. “They cannot manage democratic expressions,” he had explained.
For Nikos Papadopoulos, Papadopoulos’s goal was triple the Guardian noted in his portrait.
To be funny, to criticize the government and to show the consequences of our actions.
“As long as we believe that only politicians are responsible for our misery, nothing will change,” he had explained.
Plasticobilism as solidarity
His choice to use games as symbols brought reactions from Playmobil’s company.
The German company closed its first fansite “on the grounds of a brand violation and the ‘political’ use of its products,” Papadopoulos explained. When a new site started, they warned that the same would happen if it did not remove the political content.
Following negotiations, Nikos Papadopoulos managed to keep his blog actively hosting a statement of responsibility with the clarification that his photos “do not belong, do not work, are not funded or authorized by Playmobil”.
“I should have the right to use a game I bought in any way I like without censorship. Otherwise it’s like the inventor of the pen is forbidden to write, ”he said.
“A Playmobil figure symbolizes something pure and innocent. When I put this innocent object on a harsh human scene, I want to remind people of this feeling we had as children, the feeling we lost completely. My children have not lost it – and I hope that when it comes time to understand reality, reality will be more human, ”he said.
His initiative went viral, his compositions were reproduced on social media and in October 2026, his works were hosted in Portsmouth, England.
“When I put this innocent object in a harsh human scene, I want to remind people of this feeling we had as children, the feeling we completely lost”
Speaking at the RES, Nikos Papadopoulos/Plasticobilism said why he decided to talk about the refugee crisis, setting up children’s figures on boats sinking and camps and to capture tiny, plastic men as dead “angels”.
“Through my works I want to raise the world in many ways, to talk about the acceptance and solidarity we need to show to refugees and immigrants, and to denounce racist and hypocritical behaviors,” said a scriptwriter and artist from Thessaloniki.
“The way we treat refugees shows who we really are while we could, very easily, be in their place,” he said.
Believing what Picasso had said, “art does not decorate, overturns”, Nikos Papadopoulos chose an object that expresses childish innocence to shock with his perspective and the placement of the figure in harsh images of an adult reality.
For Nikos Papadopoulos the message was and always is “solidarity with those in need”
His first tools borrowed them in mid -202 from his son when he tried to represent the way the three -member family was sleeping in a bed.
“From now on, I was born the idea of using the figures to make my own comments on those who are primarily annoyed, in what impresses me and that it causes me admiration,” the father of two boys said.
“When I see, read or hear something and I want to comment, I set up the figures the way I want to express and photograph them. This can take me from half to 2 hours, depending on the difficulty of converting my thinking into a picture, ”he said.
For Nikos Papadopoulos the message was and always is “solidarity with those in need”.
Plasticobilism’s blog is here.
