Together we don’t stand
Vasilis Papageorgiou creates sculptures and installations inspired by places of leisure and environments where interactions within social groups take place: hotels, bars, casinos, stadiums, and streets. These works are amplified by the absence of the figure, creating an uncanny feeling for the viewer. In the coronavirus era, Papageorgiou’s works have a heightened potency due to our impeded ability to gather freely in such spaces, in many parts of the world. The spectre of this absence haunts these works as Papageorgiou attempts to present narratives between reality and fiction, yet also between theatrical scenes and quotidian life.
Papageorgiou employs the use of unifying imagery and signifiers, such as car tuning, motorbike acrobatics, street and bar culture, as a conceptual framework for his artistic practice. The discourse around these social activities has even more resonance within the Covid era. Pre‑Covid, one might have taken many of these activities for granted; they now function as an act of resistance to the ideas of “social distancing”.
Papageorgiou juxtaposes symbols and architectural elements synonymous with social gathering, such as benches and multiple television monitors, associated with watching sporting events, with a minimalistic form and aesthetic to present a new way to think about leisure, gathering, and identity. Even with the figure absent in his work, Papageorgiou allows space for inquiry into habitual leisure practice, the presumption of human interaction, social gathering, the study of identification. His investigation endeavours to create a sense of belonging that plays into notions of class and religion.
Together we don’t stand (I), 2021
Metal, copper plated fabric, marble, ceramics, fabric, cement, bronze, aluminium,
140 x 80 x 85 cm
Courtesy of the artist
Produced by Athens Biennale
Together we don’t stand (II), 2021
Metal, copper plated fabric, marble, ceramics, fabric, cement, bronze, aluminium,
140 x 80 x 85 cm
Courtesy of the artist
Produced by Athens Biennale
Together we don’t stand (III), 2021
Metal, copper plated fabric, marble, ceramics, fabric, cement, bronze, aluminium,
140 x 80 x 85 cm
Courtesy of the artist
Produced by Athens Biennale
