The London and Berlin based, Danish-Norwegian collaborative art duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, aka Elmgreen & Dragset, continue their ongoing interrogation of the conventions of public institutions in their third solo exhibition at Victoria Miro, which is on show at the gallery’s Mayfair, London space until November 7.
Titled “Self-Portraits,” the exhibition features a new series of works comprising representations of museum wall labels of other artists’ works including David Hockney, Ross Bleckner, Roni Horn, Martin Kippenberger, and Nicole Eisenmann, among others, which the artist duo have appropriated and transformed into works of art in their own right.
The duo explains: “It is a response to the projections put upon one from other people, as well as one’s urge to project a fuller, richer image of one’s self. But in order to obtain this, one is dependent on using signs and codes with connotations that are common, or else they will not be able to recognise the attempted image of one’s self.”
“Today, endless self-portraiture in the form of ‘selfies’ – each one following conventions resulting ultimately in images which are similar in appearance – makes it clearer than ever that a self-portrait does not reveal the ‘true nature of one’s inner self’. A self-portrait will always be a reflection of how one sees one’s self and wants to stage one’s appearance in relation to the surrounding world.
To find out more about “Self-Portraits,” BLOUIN ARTINFO caught up with the duo and asked them a few questions.
Self-Portraits at Victoria Miro Mayfair features a new series of works that are representations of museum wall labels of other artists’ works. What was the inspiration and motivation behind this new series?
We’ve been working together as an artist duo since 1995, which makes this year our 20th anniversary, and so recently we’ve been reflecting on the past two decades, our creative process, our dialogues over these many years, our sources of inspiration, etc. We decided to make a show that was about our shared history.
The titles depicted on these wall label works each reveal something that has been important to us: an event, a situation, a moment, or a conversation between us. Our work arises from our ongoing dialogues and when read together, the titles of the labels interact with each other and form a kind of poetry. The works of all the artists referenced in the labels have been influential to us, some personally, some professionally, throughout the years.
The funny thing is that we were never big fans ourselves of having labels next to our works when we’ve done museums shows in the past—we always tried to avoid them since we thought they were distracting. However, the labels isolated without the works next to them function in quite an intriguing way, we think.
What is the significance of the title of the show, “Self-Portraits,” and what does it reveal about the new series?
Well, a “Self-Portrait” of two artists working together is somewhat impossible—how could we write an autobiography, as we are two different people? We wanted to make a series of “Self-Portraits” that showed some of the things we share, and by exploring this sort of imaginary third persona that has developed between us, through our collaboration.
The title also points to a potential alternative to the current all-consuming “selfie” culture. It seems like any beautiful landscape, any prominent landmark or significant event, has been reduced to only a faded background all over social media for people to pose in front of with their smiling faces. This trend unsettles us—since it is as if the world does not exist unless you yourself are placed as the ultimate center point—and it made us want to suggest another, quieter way to display one’s self, and to speak about what can constitute an identity today.
Where does “Self-Portraits” sit in the context of your wider practice and how does it relate to your previous works?
Many of our works investigate the conventions of public institutions, not only art institutions. With these projects we often emphasize the seemingly insignificant elements of each spatial setting, be it a wall label in a museum, another kind of signage, or a security guard, in order to get people thinking about these features from a different perspective. This investigation into institutional spaces started with our performance “12 Hours of White Paint” in 1997, where we added about 160 liters of white paint to the walls of a white cube gallery. The space seemed to dissolve, just by adding more layers of its basic make-up.
At the Serpentine Gallery we filled an otherwise empty room with guards dressed in uniforms, just sitting there on chairs all along the walls, staring at you as an audience when you entered. We have also made works dealing with donation boxes, VIP lounges, and flip boards normally used for advertisements, as well as the works that deal with how airports, prisons and hospitals are organised.
At what point, and because of what factors and characteristics, do the labels become works of art in their own right?
Usually artwork wall labels are printed on disposable materials, and they exist solely to communicate details about the corresponding work: the title, year, materials, dimensions, courtesy, etc. Our labels are instead rendered in time-honored materials that have endured throughout art history: paint on canvas, engraved marble and charcoal on paper, and their sizes have been altered. They morph from typical, unobtrusive museum labels and become artworks themselves through our formal transformation and our added conceptual layers.
The conscious act of appropriation has been a core practice for many artists before us who were preoccupied with identity issues. Altogether it is about changing the perspective on an object, and adding a different set of values to it that allows for new readings.
