Elmgreen & Dragset. "This is how we bite our tongue".

Exhibition in Whitechapel Gallery

Elmgreen & Dragset, “This is How We Bite Our Tongue”.

Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset are artists and pioneers on the way art is presented and experienced. In their work, they portray a hidden humour and wit behind their pieces highlighting contemporary problems. Elmgreen and Dragset explore spacial scenarios and analyses social and sexual everyday scenarios. The exhibition addresses many controversial topics.

Of the exhibition, I really enjoyed the pieces. That made you question the hidden message behind and that raised awareness of what is happening with our society nowadays. In this post, I am going to review some of my favourite installations of the Whitechapel exhibition.

One of the main pieces was the Whitechapel pool. I have a conflicting opinion when it comes to this installation. I liked the message behind this installation but not the way the artists chose to portray it. I didn’t like the ‘fake imperfection of the place'. The way they painted the broken tiles and mastered the room to fake a decay look. I understood the message the artists wanted to portray of what public space is nowadays, how public spaces are constantly evolving and its obsolescence. The way politics impact individuals and the decline in the use of municipal spaces. I found the history of the pool fascinating and how important historical figures used it.

Picture retrieved from https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/michael-elmgreen-ingar-dragset-whitechapel-gallery-swimming-pool-a3945056.html

Another featured piece was the child and the gun. The artists chose to use the same materiality in both pieces to visually connect them. For me, this installation was disturbing in the sense that the child was gazing and looking forward to using the rifle.

The child felt intrigued and gave a sense of curiosity and connection with the gun. I felt the piece at the same time was raising awareness of what is happening nowadays with gun control worldwide. How are our children are growing up in a society that has no tolerance, that school shootings and gun drills are a norm. This piece challenges what is childhood innocence nowadays and what children are aspiring to become in this cluttered society.

One day. Picture taken by Gire Calderon

One of the sculptures that shocked me the most was the reversed crucifix. Growing up in a Catholic country where the image of Jesus Christ is venerated and sacred. This installation was a cultural shock for me. The artists chose to play with this iconic symbol in a distorted way. The way Christ was replaced with an ordinary man, backwards and relax. He was not portrayed as a symbol of sacrifice but as an erotic symbol. The artists thoughtfully chose to tied his hands instead of nailed them. The face and muscles of this men are relaxed, in a way showing the historical inaccuracies within the bible and how the name of Christ is portrayed in history.

Reversed Crucifix. Picture taken by Gire Calderon

And Lastly, The child in the fireplace. This piece shows the pressure children faces to excel in today’s society and how children are neglected. I found interesting the fact that the artists decided to show the fireplace as a place for solace for this child. A fireplace that at the same time is dangerous and how they portrayed this as a place. The installation for me represents the failed expectations parents embed to a child.

Invisible. Picture taken by Gire Calderon

I found this exhibition overall very interesting and how it challenges to reach deeper beyond your first impression.