Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset

Elmgreen and Dragset challenge the art institution
The Danish-Norwegian artist couple Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset challenge the art institution with their installation Please, keep quiet. In the work, the two artists recreate a universe which imitates a traditional hospital ward with beds in which wax dummies in the form of sick men lie, dressed in pyjamas.

An out-of-place experience
The installation gains its effect largely due to the surprise occasioned by meeting a hospital ward in the middle of a museum. This is a strategy known from the 20th century’s ready-mades (mass-produced objects, where the re-thinking of an object in itself constitutes the work). The out-of-place experience makes us conscious of the expectations we have of certain types of room. "Shh!"

Please, keep quiet belongs to the category re-contextualisation of the object.

Read more about re-contextualisation of the object
View more works
To the exhibition home page