andreas angelidakis installs 74 reconfigurable foam modules at toronto’s MOCA

andreas angelidakis‘ DEMOS – a reconstruction is an installation of 74 foam modules created for visitors of toronto’s museum of contemporary art (MOCA) to move and rearrange in any configuration possible. free to the public and for people of all ages, the soft and lightweight modules can be used to create a seat, a stage, or even a monument, while each configuration is demolished after use to make way for the next one.

above: awol erizku, ‘nefertiti—miles davis’, 2017. below: andreas angelidakis, ‘demos – a reconstruction’, 2018. courtesy of museum of contemporary art toronto, photo by toni hafkenscheid

MOCA’s first invitation project, DEMOS – a reconstruction explores powerful ideas around both architectural and colonial legacies, as well as our relationship with computer coding and future technologies. the installation combines influences from some of andreas angelidakis‘ previous works, such as DEMOS, a series of seemingly concrete modules presented at the documenta 14 parliament of bodies space at parko eleftherias, athens. created with the similar purpose of offering a programmable device with which to redefine the relation between stage and audience, each configuration in DEMOS was also demolished to make way for the next one. with time, the modules gradually formed a language where each variation of the space offered a new definition of ‘demos’ (from the greek δήμος).

above: kendell geers, ‘be:lie:ve’, 2002/2018. below: andreas angelidakis, DEMOS – a reconstruction, 2018. courtesy of museum of contemporary art toronto, photo by toni hafkenscheid

born in athens in 1968, andreas angelidakis works at the intersection of art and architecture, often combining influences from greek culture, its past and its present, with digital elements and technology. his installation at MOCA draws also from another one of his projects, crash pad, which was commissioned by the 8th berlin biennale for contemporary art. in crash pad, angelidakis presented a multi-purpose room formed by a series of ancient and folkloric rugs handmade in the greek countryside, displaying a transitional iconography from an ottoman to a european tradition. patterns similar to those of the carpets can be traced in the colorful modules of DEMOS – a reconstruction. 

andreas angelidakis, ‘demos – a reconstruction’, 2018. courtesy of museum of contemporary art toronto, photo by toni hafkenscheid

andreas angelidakis, ‘demos – a reconstruction’, 2018. courtesy of museum of contemporary art toronto, photo by toni hafkenscheid andreas angelidakis, ‘demos – a reconstruction’, 2018. courtesy of museum of contemporary art toronto, photo by toni hafkenscheid

andreas angelidakis, DEMOS – a reconstruction, 2018. courtesy of museum of contemporary art toronto canada, photo by tom sandler photography

andreas angelidakis, DEMOS, 2016, permanent collection of gesellschaft für moderne kunst in dresden E.V, installation view at albertinum museum in dresden

andreas angelidakis, DEMOS, installation, 2016, dimensions variable. documenta 14 public program, athens municipality arts center parko eleftherias, photo by stathis mamalakis

andreas angelidakis, crash pad, 2014, installation view at KW berlin, 8th berlin biennale for contemporary art, photo by uwe walter

project info:

name: DEMOS – a reconstruction

artist: andreas angelidakis

location: museum of contemporary art, toronto

duration: ongoing