Rafael Escardó’s exhibition Scaffolder at MOCA London is a material exploration in which the body becomes a vessel for constructed identity. During the opening event, Escardó and two dancers will perform on the stairs of MOCA London. Through repetition, bodily adjustments, and choreographed performative gestures, their actions draw attention to subtle, mundane movements. They embody passersby or workers navigating their bodies between concrete structures and human connections.
Walking through the streets of London, or any expanding city, one sees concrete and steel structures continually taking shape into buildings that support hybrid urban lives. Steel bars, textiles, and bolts become the joints, veins, and skeletons of new constructions.
Escardó observes these forms and materials, always positioning them in relation to points on the body and the surrounding constructions. Through this approach, he creates a dialogue between subjective, moving human experience and the objective, functional built environment.
At the centre of MOCA London stands a scaffold construction with stacked sculptures whose shapes recall shields or biomorphic forms, as if grown from scientific research. Suspended and secured by the scaffolding, the three sculptures suggest the beginning of continuous vertical stacking.
His sculptures become costumes for his performances, at times acting as symbolic exoskeletons in which the body merges with the sculpture. Through repetitive performative movements, the body undergoes processes of transformation and reconstruction, re-imagining both physical form and human relations.
Rafael Escardó Scaffolder MOCA London
The role of the Scaffolder is to erect, modify, and dismantle temporary structures that provide safe access for workers. Here, the sculptures and scaffolding appear suspended in time, where mass production is momentarily on hold. The steel scaffolding structure safely supports the sculptures as a temporary support system. Escardó merges the aesthetics of rough concrete with the sculptures’ curving silhouettes. Like stacked bodies, an erotic tension emerges between the contrasting materials.
Three cast concrete sculptures interlink the performers’ bodies across their shoulders. During the performance, they become connected bridges, mirroring the scaffolding and the shape of the gallery stairs. The performers themselves become part of the building materials, echoing the scaffolding, as their socks match the colour of the foam and cable ties that protect the stacked sculptures.
For Escardó, the use of three performers and three sculptures shifts the experience from a polarised standpoint to a collective one. The sculptures act as both bodily protection and exoskeletons that enhance the body while reconstructing identities.
Often in Escardó’s work, he establishes playful yet critical connections between the material and the human body. In Scaffolder, a performative dialogue unfolds between the stacked sculptures—functioning as vertebrae of the rising structure—and the interlinked performers, whose bodies morph into steps and bridges. Human forms become constructed building blocks, while architectural materials take on bodily presence.
Rafael Escardó Scaffolder 29 March – 25 April 2026
Opening Event: Sunday 29 March 2 pm – 4 pm
Live performance during the opening: 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm