Something about the set up of this bizarre diorama/installed exhibit really grabbed me. I think it may have been the banal inclusion of a beautiful period leathertop writing desk as part of the exhibition decor... as if the bland and inert semi circular mock-desk that housed a few bizarre relics (a slab of polished geological interest, a description on foam board, a desk-top stand holding nothing in particular) had elevated itself to prominence by proxy of the fine antique furniture. Its equally bland counterpart, a higher module that sat behind it but of smaller dimension, proudly displayed a bust of Ruskin (I suppose- wasn't interested enough to quantify the importance of it) but being isolated from any feature furniture itself looked merely like a poorly cast Ikea sideboard. The Ruskin bust could arguably have been left on top of it by accident- probably while curators deliberated on whether it should sit atop the leather topped feature piece, or would be perhaps better served in contrast to the formica surface of the display sideboard... anyway, by the time the hypothetical discussion was resolved, the installers had moved on anfd forgotten to place Mr Ruskin anywhere interesting, so he sat patiently atop the ikea feature, perhaps awaiting a higher calling at some later stage. The pine trees in the background seem nothing more than a surreal twist on an already bizarre accident. I would not be surprised to see the whole thing recreated to the letter by Fischli and Weiss in some biennal not long from now.
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