Tel Aviv
“Powerless Structures,” part of a series begun in 1997, was also the title of Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset’s first exhibition in Israel and the third installment of “Biography,” a joint project with the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo and the National Gallery of Denmark. Influenced by the writings of Michel Foucault, Elmgreen & Dragset view power as an everyday phenomenon, with the ability to change or evolve into something else. The “Powerless Structures” specifically critique accepted procedures and systems relating to public spaces and institutions. Prisons, social welfare offices, and airport lounges have all come under scrutiny. This time, it was the museum’s turn. To destabilize expectations, Elmgreen & Dragset dispensed with orderly, coherent presentation. The eight works in the show were scattered throughout the museum—one placed in a corridor, for instance, and another out in the garden. As a result, locating them turned into a kind of treasure hunt …see the entire review in the print version of September’s Sculpture magazine.
