Elmgreen & Dragset’s “Powerless Structures, Fig. 13” is a sculpture of a diving board penetrating a window. The tension between the window glass, the diving board, and the setting—which is usually close to a body of water—puts the work in dialogue with its surroundings, simultaneously drawing attention to and blocking access to the water. “Powerless Structures, Fig. 13”, which was previously installed at the Punta Della Dogana in Venice in 2015, is a new and unique version of “Powerless Structures, Fig. 11” (1997), one of the duo’s earliest and most iconic installations, on permanent display at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark.
The swimming pool motif is closely linked to several of Elmgreen & Dragset’s other recent works, including their widely recognizable “Death of a Collector” installation for the Danish and Nordic Pavilions at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009. The work included the body of a “collector” floating face down in his pool, outside of the two buildings, which the artists conceived of as homes.
Elmgreen & Dragset continue to utilize the swimming pool motif in their large-scale public installation “Van Gogh’s Ear”, currently on view at New York’s Rockefeller Center. Located at the Fifth Avenue entrance to the Channel Gardens, “Van Gogh’s Ear” is a sculpture, which takes the form of a swimming pool sitting upright, with a cyan blue interior, a polished stainless steel ladder, lights, and a diving board.
The work should be installed in a window with a sea view. The base would be readjusted to the height of the window sill, and the window itself should be absolutely free of anything, a full, plain glass panel or empty. Installation is not included.