— IN CONVERSATION —
In Conversation with Daniel Agdag
This issue, we chat to Melbourne based artist and filmmaker Daniel Agdag, whose delicate, inventive, and bewilderingly intricate architectural sculptures take the humble medium of cardboard to completely new heights. Your subject matter and visual style are instantly recognisable, what inspires your work? I’m predominately inspired by the built world, from machinery to architecture. I’m intrigued by the myriad of hidden systems behind closed doors or utilitarian hatches. I find myself absorbed by the designed details of elements made for very specific purposes and functions, from ducting systems in the streets of Tokyo to the now defunct levers and pulleys of the canal bridges in Amsterdam. Every part and fixture has a story and person behind it. Somebody, somewhere, devoted time and effort to solve a problem by creating it and I’m fascinated and in awe of that. I want to understand why something is shaped a certain way or why it needs to be where it is. This is what I explore in my work. What do you hope people take away from your work? I hope people find within the work some contemplation, I hope they see more revealed on every view. Your work is so intricate, how long does it take you to finish a piece? (And how’s your eyesight?!) So far so good regarding my eyesight. Very grateful for that! The length of each piece can vary quite a bit depending on the idea and its execution. One of my smaller works can take up to three months. Because I work intuitively without drawings or detailed plans, I can find myself making and then remaking elements of the work multiple times on occasion which can take time. The journey of this process of sometimes reworking something to fit in a place it was unintended to go or as an afterthought leads me to weird and wonderful outcomes aesthetically. We loved your work for Hermès, what was it like to work with the brand? It was very exciting and a very special experience. Whilst I’ve collaborated with Hermès previously, this was the first time I was introduced to their atelier, petit h. 24 | leonardjoel.com.au
