Dimensions: displayed: 540 x 2230 x 1332 mm
Copyright: © Vlassis Caniaris | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Right, next up we have ‘Image’ by Vlassis Caniaris. It’s undated, but features wood, suitcases, and newspapers. It looks like a paused moment, a collection of travel-worn objects waiting for their next journey. What story do you think it’s trying to tell? Curator: To me, it whispers of displacement, Editor. The newspapers forming a makeshift ground, the suitcases holding untold stories… it feels like a monument to transient lives. The artist was deeply affected by his own experiences of exile and sociopolitical issues, don't you think it conveys that? Editor: Absolutely, that sense of impermanence is strong. I hadn't considered Caniaris's biography in that way. Curator: Art often invites us to look beyond the surface. I think Caniaris is asking us to reflect on the journeys we undertake, both chosen and forced, and what we carry with us. Editor: It really changes my perspective on the artwork. Now I can see a much deeper meaning to it. Thanks.
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Here, Caniaris recreates a migrant’s environment: newspapers, addressing current affairs, are used as a floor covering, and packing cases are chairs. The suitcases can be read as symbolising not just the migrants’ living conditions, but the migrants themselves and their personal histories. Caniaris made Image after encountering the work of artists associated with nouveau réalisme in Paris (who incorporated real objects directly into their work). From the early 1970s, the artist focused on creating 3D installations that explored matters of national identity, social inequality, migration and displacement. Gallery label, September 2024
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