Rafael Escardó
Scaffolder
29 March - 25 April 2026
Finissage: Saturday 25 April 12pm - 4pm
Artist & Curator Discussion at 2.30pm
Scaffolder
29 March - 25 April 2026
Finissage: Saturday 25 April 12pm - 4pm
Artist & Curator Discussion at 2.30pm
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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, concrete and steel structures continuously grow 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 while always positioning them in relation to points of the body and the constructions that surround us. 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 reminisce about shields or biomorphic forms, as if grown out of scientific research. Suspended and secured by the scaffolding, the repetition of the three sculptures suggests the beginning of a 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. 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 structure of the scaffolding safely carries the sculptures like a temporary support system. Escardó merges the aesthetics of rough concrete with the curving silhouettes of the sculptures. 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 polarized standpoint to a collective one. The sculptures act both as bodily protection and as exoskeletons that enhance the body while reconstructing identities. Often in Escardó’s work he establishes playful, yet critical connections between 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. Ebook: Scaffolder www.moca.london Instagram: @moca_london www.rafaelescardo.com Instagram: @rafaelescardo_studio
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Works List:
Scaffolder performance, approx. 8 minutes, 2026 Shoulder Bridges, 2026, concrete, 65cm x 28cm x 15 cm (each) Pectoral, Stack of 3, details, 2026, concrete, aluminium scaffolding, eva foam, cable ties, 183cm x 95cm x 70cm Marica Formal 3rd Edition, 2026, Pima Cotton Socks |
Biography
Based in East London, Rafael Escardó was born in Lima, in 1991. He moved to the UK in 2015 attending the BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths University. This exhibition is his second solo show in London and first solo institutional exhibition. As a queer migrant, the dynamics of identity and otherness have been a major focus in Escardó’s artistic research since his arrival in London. His critical and multidisciplinary practice centres the use of textiles, sculpture and choreography. Escardó understands identity as fluid, and he examines the negotiations between individuals and their collectives. Everything he makes is informed by bodily experience, and he acknowledges the body as the vehicle we have for navigating our collective relationships.
Based in East London, Rafael Escardó was born in Lima, in 1991. He moved to the UK in 2015 attending the BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths University. This exhibition is his second solo show in London and first solo institutional exhibition. As a queer migrant, the dynamics of identity and otherness have been a major focus in Escardó’s artistic research since his arrival in London. His critical and multidisciplinary practice centres the use of textiles, sculpture and choreography. Escardó understands identity as fluid, and he examines the negotiations between individuals and their collectives. Everything he makes is informed by bodily experience, and he acknowledges the body as the vehicle we have for navigating our collective relationships.