Norwegian-Danish art duo, Elmgreen & Dragset returns to London to re-stage the entire gallery space at Victoria Miro for their latest solo show.
In the exhibition 'Too Late', visitors will be met by a total transformation of the gallery's interior architecture via several new interconnecting large-scale installations by Elmgreen & Dragset. Through mid November, Victoria Miro Gallery will appear as 'The Mirror' - described by the artists as "a party that's already over: lights are still blinking and the disco ball sadly spinning, but there's no-one on the dance floor, and the last round has been served long ago."
In a world where social and sexual relationships are now invariably created in isolation from real space and time, 'Too Late' reflects on the loss of common social ground. As conditions for social engagement become increasingly frustrated by control mechanisms - such as licensing and smoking laws, stringent surveillance and economic exclusion - and personal interaction thwarted by alternative platforms such as Myspace, Facebook and Gaydar, the artists stage a momentary reversal of the gentrification process and a disruption of socially sanctioned ways of behaviour.
Throughout their career, Elmgreen & Dragset have investigated modes in which art is presented and perceived. In their socially engaged installations, objects and performances, the artists reconfigure the familiar with characteristic wit and subversive humour. From the transformation of New York City's Bohen Foundation into a fictional 13th Street Subway Station in 2004, to the siting of a Prada boutique in the middle the Texan desert in 2005, to their critically acclaimed The Welfare Show in 2006 at Serpentine Gallery, Elmgreen & Dragset's work raises issues around how designs and spaces influence and reflect social conventions and behavioural patterns. Wryly entertaining, their work puts an amusing spin on serious cultural concerns.
Based in Berlin, Michael Elmgreen (b. 1961, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (b. 1969, Norway) have worked as a collaborative team since the mid-1990s. The artists have recently been awarded an unprecedented two pavilions - the Nordic and the Danish - for the 2009 Venice Biennale. Following an international competition in 2006, their proposal for the first national memorial for the homosexual victims of the Nazi regime was accepted, and later opened in May 2008.
Elmgreen & Dragset
'Too Late'
14 October - 15 November
Victoria Miro Gallery
16 Wharf Road
London N1 7RW
open Tuesday to Saturday
10am to 6pm, admission free
Tubes: Old Street and Angel
Elmgreen & Dragset's works is taking over the Victoria Miro gallery in London.