Gokiburi Britney by Alexandros Kyriakides

When Sandro DeAngelis was pronounced dead, his legacy numbered a few group exhibitions that took place in the 90s. His name was already sunk to double digit pages on Google search results. He had $866 in his account and owed approximately $1600 on credit card fees. His last thoughts before exhaling the last breath of oxygen from his lungs, was a scene from the Sopranos, where Tony drives his son, Anthony Jr, by an old catholic church in Jersey to show him how the old timers dedicated their lives into building something solid and eternal. He also advised his son to buy property because “God doesn’t make land anymore”. Sandro didn’t own any property. He was found unconscious in a rented condo that looked as if he owned it due to an extensive collection of personal items and curiosities that were carefully arranged around the space. In a sense, there were a lot of similar misperceptions about his life. He was known as an artist amongst his neighbors. Acquaintances thought he talked like an artist, behaved like an artist, drank like an artist but Sandro knew it was all crap. He was a crap artist. Just like Jack Isidore only on top of that he had to pay taxes. His last artwork, a series of prints- that’s what he called it at least in reality it was a single reproduced picture- was made 15 years ago.

Sandro DeAngelis died of asphyxiation, the result of botulism, caused by spoiled brine of pickled cucumbers. Upon his death he was given the opportunity for redemption. He chose reincarnation as a second chance of returning and proving he can still make something out of himself. Yet due to his short history of art production and lack of property ownership, it meant that his negative karmic credit would only allow him to take the form of an inferior organism. The much inferior organism of lactobacilli bacterium: the fermented agent for pickling. This is religious capitalism after all and any demotion on the genotypic scale is considered as a necessary punishment.

For this show, Alexandros Kyriakides transports the reincarnated artist into the confines of the gallery he currently co-directs, transforming the exhibition space into a pop-up pickle bar that acts as limbo: a temporary space for the dead artist to seek redemption. During the show, the audience will have the opportunity to savor the artist, or at least his bacterial metempsychosis in the form of pickled cucumbers. Once he has been devoured, the artist will co-habit within the host’s body, re-establishing himself in the consciousness of the audience while at the same time obtaining a form of shelter; a parasitic admission on the property ladder.

Opening: Friday 6th of December, 2019 at 7pm
Duration: 6/12/2019 – 10/01/20
Open by appointment

During the show a publication will be available for free and will include texts by Evi Pala, Mystic Philate and Emiddio Vasquez.

Alexandros Kyriakides was born in Athens in 1979. He studied painting at the Brera Academy in Milan and received his MFA at the Glasgow School of Art. Interested in creation of territories between truth and falsehood, his current research focuses on the artist’s ephemeral existence and how it affects his political “irresponsibility”. He has exhibited in numerous exhibitions abroad including the Foundation of Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin), Roskilde Museum of Contemporary Art (Roskilde), Aosta Museum of Art (Aosta), Via Farini (Milan), Tramway (Glasgow) and Annarumma Gallery (Naples). In 2002 he was the recipient of the “Festa dell’Arte” Award at MACRO (Rome). During the past ten years he has been living in Larnaca, working as an art lecturer at Alexander College. Currently he acts as a co-curator for Korai project space. He is also a founding member and art director of the electronic music group Whizzy Wigs.