Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos (b. Athens, 1989) is a Greek visual artist and member of the Athens-based Arbit City Group, alongside of the experimental rock band Pockets Full of Sand.
Most of Daskalakis-Lemos’ work relies upon the massive use of symbols. The selection presented in The Cabinet comes from his very first exhibition “Feral Remnants/Oinousses” held at CAN Christina Androulidaki Gallery in 2013. As the press release of the show writes,
The series of works […] examine cases of change or deterioration of a previous state of prosperity and their traces as recorded in the urban landscape, architecture and public sculpture. The motive for this series of works was an observational documentary entitled Grey Gardens (1975) by the Maysles brothers, which follows the routine of the aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy Onassis in an old mansion near New York, which had been occupied by plants, while it was internally populated mainly by cats and raccoons.
Daskalakis-Lemos’s research explores the notions of monument as an evidence of historical circumstances. This idea of an object commemorating people and events, is used by the artist to remember and reflect on the concept space, which is an urban one, and with which the artist confronts in terms of vastness, dysfunctionality and unpracticality.
Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos, ‘Untitled’, 2012, metal sculpture & plaster pedestal, 41 x 41 x 169,5 cm & ivies (various dimensions). Image courtesy the artist and CAN Gallery, Athens.
Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos, ‘Untitled’, 2014, vinyl print on T-Shirt, variable dimensions, ed. 30. Image courtesy the artist and CAN Gallery, Athens.
Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos, ‘The New Familiar’, 2013, coloured pencil on paper, 114 x 57cm. Image courtesy the artist and CAN Gallery, Athens.
Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos, ‘Hellespont Fairfax’, 2014, C-Print on flag textile, 300 x 84 cm. Image courtesy the artist and CAN Gallery, Athens.
Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos, from ‘Feral Remnants’, 2012, 13 frames, digital prints on paper and printed text, 21 x 21 cm each, ed. 3. Image courtesy the artists and CAN Gallery, Athens.
Manolis Daskalakis-Lemos, from ‘Feral Remnants’, 2012, 13 frames, digital prints on paper and printed text, 21 x 21 cm each, ed. 3. Image courtesy the artists and CAN Gallery, Athens.
Arbit City Group, ‘Construction of an Elevated Sitting Bench’, 2011, wood, iron, 3.5 m x 1.85 m x 0.55 m. Image courtesy the artist.
Arbit City Group, ‘Construction of an Elevated Sitting Bench’, 2011, wood, iron, 3.5 m x 1.85 m x 0.55 m. Image courtesy the artist.