Andreas Angelidakis
The System of Objects

May 15, 2013–November 30, 2013
DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens

Inspired by Jean Baudrillard’s seminal 1968 book The System of Objects, architect and writer Andreas Angelidakis takes a look at the various collections Dakis Joannou has put together over the years, and enters the headquarters of the DESTE Foundation in Athens with the purpose of “reloading” them.

The DESTE building takes precedence in the show while being seen from a new perspective: The System of Objects looks at Joannou’s collections and the vessel within which they are held as a chaotic and misleading path challenging the audience’s perception of art at the same time that information is offered to them. Over the last decades white walls and white cubes have become the standard typology for art spaces: this exhibition is an investigation of alternative spatial experiences to be had within those white walls, behind them, or in spite of them; an attempt to reconfigure the Foundation as an exhibition device informed by the spirit of the collections it holds; a spatial experience attuned to the works in the Collection itself.

Dark, provocative, sexual, and uplifting, the spirit of the works guides the visitor through a complex journey across the spaces of DESTE. Unsure, and perhaps even weary about what the next space will hold, the audience moves through dark and narrow corridors before arriving at sunlit empty spaces, moving through parts of the building that have not been seen before, with each transition initiating a shift in emotions.

The exhibition is curated by Andreas Angelidakis and Maria Cristina Didero.