elmgreen & dragset transform V&A into an opulent apartment

elmgreen & dragset transform V&A into an opulent apartment
elmgreen & dragset at the V&A
october 1, 2013 – january 2, 2014
installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

contemporary artists michael elmgreen and ingar dragset have created a major site-specific installation in the former textile galleries of the V&A. for ‘tomorrow’, the duo have totally transformed every facet of the exhibition space into an opulent domestic setting — a london apartment complete with a full kitchen, dining and living rooms, bedrooms, and a study. each contrived space is filled with countless objects and artifacts, whose character and attributes build the story of the person who would live there. as if setting the scene for an unrealized performance, the artists elaborately craft a living environment for a fictional man, choosing the furniture he might sit on, the plates he might use for a meal, and the photos he would display on a bedside table. visitors to the exhibition are able to explore the fabricated flat, sit on the chairs and sofa, and read the inhabitant’s books and magazines.

dragset describes the imagined man as ‘…an elderly architect, 75 years old, a failed architect. he had a lot of great ideas, he was quite visionary but he never got to realise any of his projects. he was a part-time teacher, probably at cambridge. visitors can see a lot of his models in the study that we install as part of his home. you do get a sense that this is a grand south kensington apartment, all these things have trickled down through generations and now maybe the old architect living there might be the last person to sit on this from the family empire.’

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation views of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

installation view of ‘tomorrow’
image courtesy the artists and victoria miro © elmgreen & dragset
photography by anders sune berg

1/18