Broken Clock / Powerless Structures, Fig. 245

In 1995 Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset began to collaborate what has since become a wide range of thought-provoking works and installations which blend together the categories of art, architecture and design. In a series of projects entitled Powerless Structures (1995-2002), the artists transform the meaning of objects and spaces by re-contextualizing the familiar and creating alternative behaviour patterns. Broken Clock (2001) is a wonderful example from the series in which Elmgreen and Dragset attempt to alter the conventional function of the object to establish new and intriguing possibilities. The seamless crack that shatters the clock into two fragments transforms it into a fictional entity, disrupting its traditional purpose. As the artists explain, ‘We prefer to create art works which can function on various levels and can be read from different angles’ (M. Elmgreen and I. Dragset, quoted in A. Beitin, ‘The Appearance of the Demiurges’, in P. Weibel and A. Beitin (ed.), Elmgreen & Dragset: Trilogy, London 2011, p. 63). Much of their artistic approach is based on the philosophy of Michel Foucault, investigating the behavioural patterns that determine human action and activity in society. Broken Clock is a strong example of the duo’s masterful creativity in assigning new definition to the familiar.