Theo Triantafyllidis
Sisyphean Cycles

On the occasion of Art Verona 2023, Spazio Vitale opens to the public with Theo Triantafyllidis: Sisyphean Cycles (curated by Domenico Quaranta). The exhibition brings together, for the first time in a single installation, four simulations by the Greek artist, guiding the viewer on a complex and compelling narrative journey, and in as many ecosystems – worlds, programmed by the artist in such a way as to modify themselves according to a autonomous behavior. Significant examples of world building , a creative practice that is the subject of growing interest in both the artistic, philosophical and literary fields, live simulations by Theo Triantafyllidis are simulation software that give life to immersive digital environments, sometimes automated, other times interactive, which can take various forms and adapt to different displays (from virtual reality to augmented reality to video installation); “in vitro simulations”, complete systems that the spectator can, from time to time, observe with scientific coldness or actively manipulate. Triantafyllidis uses this medium both to critically narrate contemporary reality , highlighting the individual and social consequences of communication technologies on human beings; both to simulate alternative realities that start from radically different conditions. Specifically, the exhibition presents four recent installations, linked according to a narrative that proceeds from the criticism of the present to the construction of alternative worlds: Ork Haus (2022), Radicalization Pipeline (2021), Ritual (2020) and BugSim (Pheromone Spa) (2022 ). 

Ork Haus represents a family of orcs in their domestic environment, as they live a daily existence strongly conditioned by digital technologies, both at the level of interpersonal communication and that of domestic management and escape in simulations (video games, VR, streaming videos ). The ogre, elsewhere used by the artist as his alter ego, is a recurring figure in his work, a narrative solution that allows him to reduce his characters to a set of elementary and therefore paradigmatic drives and forms of communication. The protagonists of the simulation appear, each in their own way, imprisoned in their alternative realities, while the world around them seems to be falling into ruin. 

In Radicalization Pipeline, two seemingly endless hordes clash in violent combat, brandishing great melee weapons and shouting in distorted voices. A wide range of characters – from citizen militias to fantastical creatures – enter the screen only to kill each other, wave after wave, slowly sinking their virtual bodies into a muddy landscape. The mood lightens from time to time thanks to medieval covers of familiar pop songs that complement the soundscape conceived by composer and sound designer Diego Navarro. Looking at phenomena such as the rise of QAnon and the storming of the US House of Representatives, the artist suggests connections between gamification, fantasy imagery and political radicalization: the “funnel” structure of social media, which creates discursive bubbles in which we see ourselves continually exposed to people who think like us and to contents that confirm our ideas, is analyzed in its political and social implications, underlining the role that their “confirmation bias” plays in the birth of cults, in the circulation of fake news, and in the process of political radicalization.

 Ritual instead takes us to an apparently familiar place – a readymade space appropriated and modified by the graphics engine of a video game – and to an unknown and post-apocalyptic time, in which human life, swept away by a cataclysm, seems to have left itself only the ruins. In this situation, a nascent ecosystem made up of insects and animals gradually manifests its existence according to a repetitive and hypnotic rhythm, as in a sort of strange ritual. 

Finally, BugSim (Pheromone Spa) presents a precious slice of microscopic life preserved in an intensive care terrarium. A crowded colony of ants expands through a humid glass surface and into lush vegetation. Slowly and painstakingly they work to transform a fragile purple mud into a structure they can call home. From this structure grows an entire forest of small flowering plants, pollinated by buzzing honey bees and inhabited by teeming microfauna. This virtually self-sufficient, closed terrarium system. 

Born in Athens in 1988, Theo Triantafyllidisis an artist who works with digital and physical media to explore the experience of space and the mechanics of embodiment in hybrid realities. Using game algorithms and engines, virtual reality headsets, and experimental performance processes, he creates interactions within immersive environments. In Triantafyllidis’ worlds, uncomfortable interactions and precarious physics mix with disturbing, absurd and poetic situations, inviting the viewer to confront new realities. Through the lens of monster theory, Triantafyllidis investigates the themes of isolation, sexuality and violence in their visceral extremes. He proposes computational humor and AI improvisation as an answer to the tech industry’s agenda. He considers online and gaming communities the inspiration and context for his work and often actively collaborates with them. Theo holds an MFA from UCLA, Design Media Arts and an architecture diploma from the National Technical University of Athens. He has exhibited in museums, including the House of Electronic Arts (HEK) in Basel, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the NRW Forum in Dusseldorf, and in galleries such as Meredith Rosen Gallery, Breeder and Eduardo Secci. He participated in the Athens Biennale 2021: Eclipse, the Berliner Festspiele 2021, the Sundance New Frontier 2020 and the Hyper Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2017. More information: https://slimetech.org/. Design Media Arts and an architecture diploma from the National Technical University of Athens. You have exhibited in museums, including the House of Electronic Arts (HEK) in Basel, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the NRW Forum in Dusseldorf, and in galleries such as Meredith Rosen Gallery, Breeder and Eduardo Secci. You participated in the Athens Biennale 2021: Eclipse, the Berliner Festspiele 2021, the Sundance New Frontier 2020 and the Hyper Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2017. More information: https://slimetech.org/. Design Media Arts and an architecture diploma from the National Technical University of Athens. You have exhibited in museums, including the House of Electronic Arts (HEK) in Basel, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the NRW Forum in Dusseldorf, and in galleries such as Meredith Rosen Gallery, Breeder and Eduardo Secci. You participated in the Athens Biennale 2021: Eclipse, the Berliner Festspiele 2021, the Sundance New Frontier 2020 and the Hyper Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2017. More information: https://slimetech.org/.

Spazio Vitale
Via San Vitale 5 – Verona

From 13 October to 11 November 2023
From Monday to Friday, 2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Saturday, 10.00 am – 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Opening: 13 October, 7.00 pm