Site 2. Erwin Wurm (Austria)
59 Stellungen/59 Positions (1992)
Ballantynes
1st September - 15th October 2002

Erwin Wurm's work is focused on expanding the concepts and materials associated with sculpture. Sometimes these concerns are realised as photographic and video performances, which ultimately are the antithesis of a sculptural practice understood as monument, model or maquette; that is, Wurm moves beyond object and pedestal. The body is an essential component: in these two video projects the artist choreographed humourous, even absurd scenarios focused on sculpture as a dynamic act rather than a static thing. In 59 Stellungen/59 Positions (1992), the very act of putting on a garment revealed sculptural/performance potential; likewise, in Flight Simulator (1998), a swivel chair was elevated imaginatively beyond its usual sedentary office position.

Considered 'temporal investigations', these works revealed an indebtedness to every-day, commonplace incidents - they explored the human body in relation to objects and surroundings. Rather than simply alluding to the Duchampian notion of the ready-made, Wurm extended this to an understanding of sculpture as ever ready to be made - a performative dimension that promotes investigation, process and action as ways of reinvigorating sculptural conventions.

Curator: Ewen McDonald