Elmgreen & Dragset - After Dark

‘We're constantly battling with architecture. Sometimes it's a joyful play-fight, at other times we'll feel the urge to go full de-construction. Usually, though, it's the starting point for our exhibition concepts, as we often take into account the existing characteristics of the particular spaces we're working with-looking at how such spaces are used, by whom and in what ways-to formulate ideas that either resonate with or rebut ingrained associations with a specific site. It's interesting how the aesthetics of a certain space can make you feel or behave in particular ways. A room with grand architectural features might change how you walk around it. If we were to transform such a space into a domestic setting, for example, as we did for the Danish and Nordic Pavilions for the Venice Biennale in 2009 and later at the V&A in London in 2013, it might make visitors feel like detectives looking for clues in someone's private sphere or like uninvited guests in that home. We have found that by modifying the architectural features of a gallery space and by moving away from the white-cube aesthetic, it's possible to alter how people interact with art.’