Maurice Agis

Maurice Agis
Maurice Agis and Peter Jones receiving the Sikkens Award (1967)
Born	(1931-12-07)7 December 1931 London, England
Died	12 October 2009(2009-10-12) (aged 77) Spain
Nationality	English
Education	Dutch Ministry of Education
Known for	Sculpture
Notable work	Dreamspace

Maurice Agis (7 December 1931 – 12 October 2009) was a British sculptor and artist whose Dreamspace projects have drawn the involvement and work of various schools and art institutions all over Britain. His disillusionment with galleries and museums led him to create his signature "interactive works" in the 1960s.

In July 2006, he came to wider attention after his work, Dreamspace V, came loose from its moorings in a park in Chester-le-Street, killing two people and injuring 13 others. In February 2008 he was charged with manslaughter over the Chester-le-Street incident. During the course of his trial, Agis vowed to never again make such large works.

Agis was born in east London in 1931. Between 1950 and 1962 he studied painting and sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art in London before going onto postgraduate works on De Stijl at the Dutch Ministry of Education in 1967.

His disillusionment with art galleries led to his collaboration with Peter Jones to create Spaceplace, the first of many "abstract walk-through spaces". Spaceplace was installed at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, in 1966 and the next year in the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Agis used the abilities of his art students while teaching at various installations between 1962 and 1973 (though the larger pieces were later manufactured overseas in countries such as Vietnam before being linked together in Britain).

After collaborating for 20 years, Agis and Jones went their separate ways. Agis's first solo project was Colourspace, which he presented for the first time in London in 1980 and later exhibited in Los Angeles and Brisbane, extending his profile. When Colourspace was exhibited in the German seaside town of Travemunde in July 1986 it lifted off the ground, injuring five people.

When constructing his works, Agis would often involve local schools in the areas where the work would be displayed.

On 22 July 2006, Agis installed Dreamspace V at Riverside Park, Chester-le-Street, the second of a three-part tour of Britain. The following day, echoing the events of 14 years previously, the artwork left its moorings, soaring 30 ft (9m) into the air before colliding with a CCTV pole, killing two people and injuring 13 others. Following the incident, Durham Police seized the remnants of Dreamspace and launched a joint investigation with the Health & Safety Executive.