Unlike the rest of us who probably find the tidal wave of celebrity culture a little overwhelming, Elmgreen & Dragset have embraced it head on to produce a solo exhibition entirely addressing the phenomena.
Taking place at ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art, in the German city of Karlsruhe, 'Celebrity - The One & The Many' is an artificial-reality exhibition comprising two huge, staged installations custom-built to fit into the museum's space.
The first installation, a four-storey-high concrete slab, is a behemoth of a building that cannot be entered, but can give the viewer a preview of played-out scenarios through the various viewing panel galleries of the atria. Each scenario within the block is different, but the one common factor between them is that they all feature people desperate for fame.
Known for the way in which they create spectacular large-scale installations as a means for commentary, Elmgreen & Dragset use their work to call into question society's behavioural patterns; in the case of the concrete slab and the world within it, the recent spate of fame-hungry youths willing to gain coverage through any means possible.
Also touched on is the idea of the 'celebrity' as an icon - a status which it seems is getting easier to enhance (or tarnish) by mass-communicated distortions, rumours, gossip and half-truths. In a separate area, the second installation shows an empty ballroom bordering onto another room, where a VIP party is taking place behind closed doors. Encased completely by frosted-glass door panes, the VIPs and their party are kept away from exhibition visitors, who can only helplessly eavesdrop on dregs of gossip and noise from the party inside.
The 'Celebrity - The One & The Many' exhibition features two huge installations custom-built to fit into the museum's space. This four-storey-high concrete slab is meant to represent a modest dwelling.
The building cannot be entered, but viewing panels give glimpses of the played-out scenarios inside.
The installation aims to touch on the recent phenomena of fame-hungry youths willing to gain media coverage through any means possible, be it television, the internet, or blogs.
Each scenario within the block is different, but all have some kind of reference to fame.
'Paparazzo', by Elmgreen & Dragset.
The second installation shows an empty ballroom bordering onto another room, where a VIP party is taking place behind closed doors. Encased completely by frosted-glass door panes, the VIPs and their party are kept away from exhibition visitors, who only hear gossip and noise from the party inside.
A golden maid appears to wait for orders
Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset with one of the life-sized models from the exhibition, a little boy, the son of the fictive celebrity host of the VIP party, who is seen crouched in the corner of the ballroom installation.
A reference photo for the lonely schoolboy
ADDRESS
ZKM | Museum of Contemporary Art
Lorenzstrasse 19
76135 Karlsruhe
Germany
-
'Refined, serene, provocative': inside the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025We visit the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, open from now until the end of May, and explore a nimble curation that juxtaposes the ancient and the contemporary
-
Mushroom beta-glucans are a hero ingredient for French skincare brand VerdoieMushroom beta-glucans are new French skincare and supplement brand Verdoie’s hero ingredient. Laura Feinstein speaks to its founder Sonia Gaillis-Delepine to find out why
-
Bulgari’s new exhibition pays homage to the snake in culture, art and jewelleryThe high jewellery maison celebrates the Chinese zodiac in ‘Serpenti Infinito’, a Shanghai exhibition that traces how the symbol of the serpent has manifested throughout history
