Theseas Efstathopoulos

My name is Theseas Efstathopoulos, I was born Limassol, Cyprus in 1997 and I moved to Berlin in 2015 for my studies. I currently work as an art mediator, photographer, host and gardener and I recently co-published “Ever been friend-zoned by an institution?” with curator Viviane Tabach during our work at documenta fifteen. The aim of this publication is to open up the process of art education at documenta fifteen from direct experience, to contribute to the broader institutional memory of documenta and to enter into a dialogue with the educational work and practices of other institutions.

A big part of my artistic work is the printing practice with Collagraphy. This relief printing process is a search for forms that contain and express the more-than-human. I have been influenced by excavation sites, composting processes and migration policies. The materials I use reflect my search for permeable and contestable boundaries between living and non-living beings. The imagery of the works includes moments of togetherness and moments of duplication and moments of debris and dismantling.

A second part of my practice is mediation. I have accompanied numerous projects and led workshops with young people. This has given me a lot of experience in self-organised and organic group work and I feel comfortable working in and with cultural institutions. This includes familiarity with anti-racist and decolonising work and the democratisation of knowledge transfer and generation.

The third and final part of my practice is that of social sculpture.
Through sculptural and pedagogical approaches in my sculptural work, I aim to support processes of creation and practice my ability to listen and give voice. Currently I am working together with the Stechlin-Institut on a micro-lake. It is a sculptural work that seeks to include both the human and non-human communities at the Institute. The plan is to create a water reservoir inaccessible to humans that will offset the effects of climate change and human intervention on the property. The project thus explores the unstable boundaries between wet and dry areas of the Brandenburg landscape and proposes resource-efficient and local solutions.