Thomas Hirschhorn (*1957)

The model of a devastated pair of semi-detached houses is one of the more recent sculptural forms produced by Swiss sculptor Thomas Hirschhorn, who is known for his space-filling installations. The house, conceived for two families dwelling under a single roof, is an exemplary representation of the sometimes involuntary vicinity of contrary positions. Apart from the dramatic devastation and destruction of the living spaces, war photographs on the walls suggest that the glorification of violence is a first step to the practice of violence. ‘Two Families’ does not refer to concrete opponents at war with one another, but represents a panoptikon of contemporary violence at the start of the third millennium. The different dimensions in the miniature house challenge the viewer to develop his own scale in his vision of things.  ___