Art Metropole

#04148

Material: Public Works - The Bridge 2000

Artist

Thomas Hirschhorn

Date

2001

Publisher

Book Works (U.K.) Ltd.

Format

Artists' Books

Size

23 × 33 cm

Length

2000 

In 2000, as part of the exhibition ‘Protest and Survive’, Hirschhorn built a bridge linking the Whitechapel Gallery and the Freedom Press Bookshop, which is located adjacent to the Gallery in the East End of London. During the exhibition the Freedom Press Bookshop, which was established in 1886 sells and publishes its own books and pamphlets on anarchism, became an extension of the Whitechapel and vice versa. Such a project set out to open a dialogue about the relationship between art and politics. The linking function of the bridge and its remit as a ‘communicative’ device is intended to be continued by this publication.

Modelled on a French government document, this book aims to reveal both the structure of the bridge and the process of artistic production as a mutual activity. Through the reproduction of correspondence and dialogue between the various parties the hidden support systems of production become transparent.

The book is a fascinating document detailing the ideas behind the work, including interviews with the artist and curators of the work, transcripts of talks given about the Bridge and visitors impressions, as well as numerous official documents, press cuttings and photographs from the artist’s own archive.