 Reg(u)arding the Guards 2005 Courtesy of Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen © 2006 Elmgreen & Dragset Photo © 2006 Thor Brødreskift Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset The Welfare Show What is the welfare state? What has caused its decline? How socially responsible has it been? "The Welfare Show" by artists Michael Elmgreen (born 1961, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969, Norway) uses sculptures, installations and an encyclopaedic style catalogue to focus attention on welfare systems in the Western world. Within this context, visitors are invited to consider such concepts as power, economic disparity, health care, immigration, the police state, and the social role of art. For more than a decade, the artists have been collaborating to create sculptures and installations that challenge conventional notions of institutions and public spaces within contemporary society. Since 1997, their "Powerless Structures" series of works has investigated how sites such as prisons, social security offices, hospitals, museums, galleries and parks exercise social control. The artists live and work in Berlin and have had many international exhibitions, including the "Untitled" series at Tate Modern and "Utopia Station" at the 50th Venice Biennale, both 2003. They were nominated for the Hugo Boss Prize, 2000, and received Germany's Preis der Nationalgalerie für Junge Kunst, 2002. "Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset: The Welfare Show" is initiated by Bergen Kunsthall, Norway and produced in collaboration between Bergen Kunsthall; Bawag Foundation, Vienna; The Power Plant, Toronto; and the Serpentine Gallery, London. Exhibition: 26 January - 26 February 2006 Open daily from 10 am to 6 pm Serpentine Gallery Kensington Gardens UK-London W2 3XA Telephone +44 (0) 20 7402 6075 Fax +44 (0) 20 7402 4103 Email information@serpentinegallery.org www.serpentinegallery.org |
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