Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset already had some ideas for their V&A show when on a tour of the museum, they stumbled across some storage rooms. The pair knew instantly that the former textile galleries would form an integral part of their new work. Re-imagined an an architect’s apartment and studio, the rooms play host to an amalgamation of V&A items, the artist’s creations, and found objects from flea markets in an intriguing large-scale installation.
The two men worked backwards, creating a kind of film-set first and then writing a script to go with it based on what they saw unfolding at the museum. The story – available to visitors in a booklet – centres on a visionary architect towards the end of his life, frustrated by a lack of professional success and driven to sell off the last of the family silver to keep the wolf from the door. The public can wander freely around the apartment, interacting with the exhibits and extrapolating the story for themselves. Fascinating, and a bit voyeuristic, the event runs until 2 January.
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset.
Photograph, Stephen White
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
© Elmgreen & Dragset
Photograph, Anders Sune Berg
Installation images courtesy the artists
and Victoria Miro, London
