four-level white platform reinterprets the ‘throne’ on greek island

Stepped Platform composes a Collective Viewpoint on Othoni

Developed during the Ionian Lab 2026 residency on Othoni, at the western edge of Greece, Dimitris Kontodimos’ West/End (For those who made it this far) takes the form of a four-level white platform positioned toward the open western horizon. The work begins with the island’s ancient association with the name Othronos, interpreted as ‘the throne.’ Rather than reproducing the throne as a singular seat of authority, Kontodimos expands it into a structure designed to be occupied collectively. Measuring 2.5 × 2.5 × 1.25 meters, the installation was built on site by the artist over two to three days from 22 mm MDF panels, which he measured, cut, and assembled himself. Part sculpture, part seating structure and part viewing platform, West/End was conceived from the outset to be used. Visitors can climb onto its stepped levels, sit together and face the sea. In doing so, the work transforms an otherwise unbuilt point in the landscape into a temporary place for collective observation.

West/End overlooks the Ionian Sea from Othoni | all images ©Dimitris Kontodimos

West/End Connects Othoni’s Horizon with Histories of Migration

The work’s orientation is central to the project. In Greek, the word for west, dysi, derives from the ancient verb ‘dyo,’ to sink or submerge, referring to the movement of the sun as it disappears beneath the horizon. On Othoni, direction and ending become physically intertwined: the structure faces the setting sun, the edge of the land and the expanse beyond it. For Kontodimos, however, the West is also more than a geographic direction. The island’s history of migration informed the development of the work, introducing another reading of the horizon as a destination associated with departure, possibility, security and prosperity. The sculpture turns this political and cultural imaginary into a bodily experience: where one sits determines what one faces.

The subtitle, For those who made it this far, extends the ambiguity. ‘Making it’ can describe both the act of reaching a place and the idea of having succeeded once there. Rather than offering a monument to arrival, West/End creates a temporary collective throne from which the promise of elsewhere can be observed. The installation is ephemeral and will remain on Othoni until September 2026. ‘People had already found their own way to use it. Climbing up, sitting, facing west. No one needed to be told what it was for. They stayed until the sun was gone, then a little longer,’ mentions the artist.

the temporary white structure occupies a narrow plateau within Othoni’s dramatic limestone landscape