From 1 October 2013 to the 2 January 2014 the V&A commissioned tomorrow by leading contemporary artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Their remit was to create a major site-specific installation in the former Textile Galleries. This exhibition comprised of a stage set for an unrealised drama to create an unexpected encounter for the museum visitor.
Now I had obviously missed the exhibition but it bore striking similarities to the work I was creating even though mine used video alongside artefacts.'Tomorrow' transformed the galleries into an apartment belonging to a fictional, elderly and disillusioned architect. FRom the images I couldfind the domestic setting appeared like a set for an unrealised play. Into their own sets objects from the V&A's collection were presented alongside artworks, furniture and every day items to create an unexpected experience for the audience. A script, written by the artists, was made available for visitors as a printed book. Visitors were able to explore the apartment, and interact with the furniture and also read the inhabitant’s books and magazines.
"Making this exhibition is like creating a detailed set for a film, but with access to the incredible collections of the V&A to choose from," said the artists. "While selecting objects to furnish the apartment we began to envision pieces of dialogue between characters that we could imagine might inhabit the space."
"We are excited to be working with two of the world’s leading contemporary artists on this ambitious project," said V&A director Martin Roth. "The result will be unsettling and provoking and above all will present the V&A’s collections in a radically new and memorable way for our visitors."
Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset said of their inspiration and intentions of the piece: “On one of our early visits to the V&A to discuss the show, we encountered the former textile galleries which were being used for storage and closed to the public. When we found these spaces we knew right away what we wanted to do. Making this exhibition is like creating a detailed set for a film, but with access to the incredible collections of the V&A to choose from. While selecting objects to furnish the apartment we began to envision pieces of dialogue between characters that we could imagine might inhabit the space. So we wrote a script. It was sort of a reversed process where the props in our film set initiated the narrative. Now it's our hope that visitors will interact freely with this set and discover their own clues as to who our fictional and quite eccentric inhabitant might be.”
Throughout their career the artists have redefined the way in which art is presented and experienced, raising issues around social models and spaces, and prompting a re-thinking of the status quo. Elmgreen & Dragset are known for their subversive sculptures and installations, which draw on diverse influences including social politics, performance and architecture. Previous installations by the duo include a sculpture of a boy on a rocking horse on top of the vacant fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square and a full scale replica of a Prada boutique built in the Texan desert.
I loved the idea of the piece and its similarities to mine are striking in the use of a script although I will film mine too, use of created artefacts to tell a story and a fictionalised world brought to life. Mine has the added extra of a strong sense of ideology and issue too. I loved the line "It was sort of a reversed process where the props in our film set initiated the narrative." Now my piece will not do this but it will use the pieces to help create the narrative and reinforce it creating a fictional world that is tangible.
It is reassuring to see that artists are working on similar ideas and being respected and well thought of too as whilst not in their league it validates what I am trying to do somewhat and has given me a little more confidence moving forward.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/tomorrow-elmgreen-dragset/
https://www.timeout.com/london/art/elmgreen-dragset-tomorrow
https://www.dezeen.com/2013/09/19/tomorrow-elmgreen-dragset-art-installation-at-the-va/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/sep/18/elmgreen-dragset-v-a-through-the-keyhole
http://thisistomorrow.info/articles/elmgreen-dragset-tomorrow
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