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They‘ve had a giant sun, enormous slides, a humongous garden and a massive crack – now the Turbine Hall is being handed over to Danish art collective Superflex to turn into something more community-focused. Probably. We don‘t really know, you see, because the Tate hasn‘t told us what the Danes are actually going to be doing in the Turbine Hall; they just said today ’yep, them, that lot, they‘re doing it‘. They say they‘re keeping the plans secret, but we reckon they just have aaaabsolutely no idea what Superflex are planning.
But Superflex are a really interesting choice. Not exactly a household name around these parts, they‘ve been ploughing a unique artistic furrow for a while now. Their main thing is making what they call ’tools‘: art installations that can be used by communities and turned into something beyond art. Previous projects have seen them create a massive public park in Copenhagen (pictured), which was filled with objects from around the world to reflect the diversity of the area, an installation that works as a functioning toilet in the Netherlands, and an open source beer recipe published through Creative Commons. Throughout their work, the prime idea seems to be to expose the mechanisms of economics and allow collaborators and the public to literally change the work. How great does that sound? Can you imagine what they‘re going to be able to do with a space like the Turbine Hall? After the disappointment of the latest installation – Philippe Parreno's unapproachable, senseless, complex and visually deflating light show/floating cinema screen – this could be the thing that makes London fall back in love with the Turbine Hall.
Superflex's 'Euro' is currently hanging on the side of the Hayward Gallery and will be there until the end of March. Check out more clever art right here.