“Ruins are symbols of time and society”
Meet Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn. “Ruins are important because there is always a reason why they are ruins.”
We visited Thomas Hirschhorn while he was building up his exhibition Community of Fragments that turns the renowned Kunstforeningen GL STRAND in the heart of Copenhagen into – yes – a ruin. “A ruin is a space that is not dedicated anymore or can be dedicated in the future to something different. It’s a moment, where it has another meaning. It’s a moment of suspension or change.”
At the same time, Hirschhorn reflects upon the importance of art and cultural institutions in general. He sees museums as prolonging public spaces that become increasingly challenged all over the world. As a result, Hirschhorn wants his exhibitions to be made as widely accessible as possible. “Art can change life. It changed my life and I am sure it can change the life of others.”
Thomas Hirschhorn (b. 1957) is an award-winning Swiss artist originally trained as a graphic designer. He is known for his ambitious projects in public space, and for projects which quite specifically involve the institutions where he exhibits, as well as the engagement of the public. This concept is also applied to the exhibition Community of Fragments, which will be shown at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND in Copenhagen in the spring of 2021: https://en.glstrand.dk/exhibitions/current/thomas-hirschhorn.aspx. Hirschhorn’s often political work has been shown at the Istanbul Biennial (Turkey), the Centre Georges Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo (Paris), dOKUMENTA (Kassel), Museum Ludwig (Cologne), Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich), McaM (Shanghai), Museo Tamayo (Mexico City), the Dia Art Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art (New York) as well as the Tate Modern (London). In 2011 he represented Switzerland at the Venice Biennale.
Thomas Hirschhorn was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND in Copenhagen in February 2021.
Camera: Klaus Elmer and David Schweiger
Edited by Klaus Elmer
Produced by Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2021
Supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond.
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