Powerless Structures Fig. 101, the new landmark of ARKEN Museum of Modern Art.

Elmgreen & Dragset’s sculpture Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 is a modern version of the equestrian statue. Historically, the equestrian statue is a symbol of power that celebrates kings and warlords. The boy on the rocking-horse, on the other hand, reflects our own time. Today we do not pay homage to the powers-that-be, we aspire to self-realization and acclaim the individual. The child is the new ideal in our time, a symbol of the human being capable of self-realization and of connecting with the world through play and creativity.

In Elmgreen & Dragset’s art the critique of the structures of power thus goes hand in hand with an acute, humorous gaze at current society, our human interrelations and the art museum as a setting for this cultural critique.

The sculpture, a commentary on traditional sculptures and war monuments, was originally cast in bronze for the Fourth Plinth of Trafalgar Square. Placed on the plinth, the child is elevated to the status of a Roman hero, yet he has no history to commemorate; only a future to hope for.