Elmgreen & Dragset's 'Useless Bodies?' at Fondazione Prada, Milan

The exhibition 'Useless Bodies?' by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset opened at Fondazione Prada in Milan in 2022. Michael Elmgreen (Copenhagen, 1961) and Ingar Dragset (Trondheim, 1969), who have collaborated since 1995 and live in Berlin, explore the centrality of the body in the post-industrial era. The show spans 3,000 square meters across four spaces: Podium, the North Gallery, and the Cisterna. In Podium, classical and contemporary sculptures are arranged like a public square, with works such as 'Multiple Me, Fig. 2' (2022) and 'Elevator' (2022) incorporating the viewer's body. An empty office upstairs critiques the body's role in labor, referencing Carl Andre and Donald Judd. The North Gallery presents a dystopian home with unused kitchen, uncomfortable seating, a private morgue, and a robot dog, reflecting on privacy and online sharing. The Cisterna is transformed into a gym-like space, where wellness industries promote an ideal body, while 'What's left' (2021) depicts a tightrope walker losing balance, highlighting bodily fragility. The exhibition was conceived before the COVID-19 pandemic.