mindmarrow

September 13, 2013 Repository 91: Peeping Tom | Elmsgreen & Dragset | Victoria and Albert Museum Posted In: contemporary art, exhibition of note, perspective

Elmgreen & Dragset, High expectations, 2011 image by Udo Meinel — courtesy des artistes & galerie Perrotin

Elmgreen & Dragset, High expectations, 2011 image by Udo Meinel — courtesy of the artist & galerie Perrotin

In this zeitgeist of nosy and peeping proclivities I can’t think of a better exhibit than the forthcoming Elmsgreen & Ingar Dragset show at the V&A in London. Starting October 1, you can roam into five of the previous textile galleries where the artists have created a magnificent life-size diorama.

“Tomorrow” will recreate an apartment of a fictional architect with a long life and a failed career. You are invited by the artist to snoop around, peak in the cabinets, peruse the architect’s bookshelves, and even take a respite on his sofa.

The artists have received most notoriety from their faux Prada store from 2005 in Marfa, Texas and have done similar fictitious installations such as “The Collectors House” in the Danish and Nordic Pavilions at the 2009 Venice Bienale.

'Death of a Collector', Elmgreen & Dragset, 2009. Photograph by Anders Sune Berg. Courtesy of Galeria Helga de Alvear

‘Death of a Collector’, Elmgreen & Dragset, 2009. Photograph by Anders Sune Berg. Courtesy of Galeria Helga de Alvear

A narrative art piece in the most exquisite manner – “Tomorrow” is part fiction and part truth. And you the viewer, much like voyeurs surfing social media sites, may peer in and make judgements on what you see. I believe that often fiction reveals the truth, and non-fiction creates myths, so perhaps in all of its contrived story lines within a museum context, this installation may reveal something essential.

It’s magical when experiencing these types of artworks – real and not real, honest and a total lie. There’s nothing more powerful than the truth – here’s to hunting for it.

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