Dilemma is a site-specific work by the Danish – Norwegian duo Elmgreen & Dragset.

The artists have collaborated since 1995 and work in various media such as sculpture, installation and performance. Their work critisises institutionalised systems and challenges the viewers conception of public space.

Perched at the edge of the board, the boy’s crouched posture indicates that he is simultaneously excited and apprehensive about the potential jump. The sculpture serves as a metaphor for growing up and entering the adult world, where there is the pressure to act – to take chances or to live up to expectations.

What happens in this situation? Will the boy take the plunge into the unknown? Or will he turn around to climb down again?

As in previous works by Elmgreen & Dragset the deep-rooted classical sculpture tradition is challenged in this new sculpture. In opposition to many other public sculptures, which celebrate heroic acts, this work celebrates an everyday scene, which, however brief, can still be of existential importance. 

Elmgreen & Dragset, Dilemma, 2017

© Elmgreen & Dragset / BONO 2017