Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Latest Show in London Tackles Disillusionment and Political Polarization

Known as a pioneer of relational art, a form centered on human exchanges and connections, Rirkrit Tiravanija’s practice carries an inherently political value—one he defines in the classical Greek sense of “polis,” highlighting how the political emerges in everyday acts of interaction, participation and solidarity within communal spaces. Prioritizing human relationships over the traditional concept of artworks as static objects, Tiravanija often disrupts societal hierarchies and behavioral codes, crafting situations where the audience actively engages, either through interactions with others or guided by the artist’s facilitation.

For his latest exhibition, “A MILLION RABBIT HOLES,” on view at Pilar Corrias in London during Frieze Art Week, Tiravanija has created an immersive environment that captures the atmosphere of American politics in the run-up to the presidential election next month while also reflecting on the dangerous polarization spreading across countries facing shared geopolitical uncertainties. Ahead of the opening, Observer connected with the artist to discuss the themes that shaped the show and the evolving meaning of “relational art,” with its inherently political dimension.

Let’s start with the title. Can you tell us what inspired it and how it relates to the works on view?

I am not exactly sure where that dropped from; it’s always a combination of reading and passing by thoughts and ideas: some come directly, stories, news and or articles from my daily reading, but some, like the title, a phrase that already exists in culture, is plucked out from the moment. It’s also about sarcasm: these reading shifts in time and space for me. In different contexts (spray paint on a fence, on a T-shirt or hanging in a gallery), the thought of the phrase shifts, I hope, and kicks off or triggers questions.

What does it mean for you to create relational art focused on collective interactions in an increasingly divided society?

I hope it’s still relevant, perhaps, or more so, but the criticism of relational art was that it was uncommitted (not antagonistic enough). I have felt that making space for people to decide, making conditions whereby decisions have to be made (to enter or not, to part take or not, to relate or not) was the kind of space where the audience has to commit themselves was more viable. The self needed to decide if it was possible to become a part of the collective, and it seems that at this moment in the world inundated with “social” media, we have become less sociable. We have become encamped in our minds. However, one also understands that interactions and exchanges can be layered, and we need time and place to make these layers appear.

What conversation or reaction does the installation, which addresses polarization and social divides ahead of the American elections, aim to inspire in visitors?

Perhaps it’s not just about the American election but a barometer of the polarization in the world now. Disinformation, the confusion of truths and alternative truths, and the insemination of conspiracies into reality need us to think on our feet. The recent riots in the U.K. from child stabbing and the perpetual falsehood that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are kidnapping neighborhood cats and dogs and eating them by the presidential and vice presidential candidates are made to divide and polarize society. Perhaps we need to sieve out where we stand in this world.

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The wallpaper wrapping the room shows a roadside woodlot in a forested landscape in upstate New York. Is there any specific reason to contextualize this intervention upstate?

I live down the road from this firewood lot; it’s on the upper Delaware River, which borders New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and one could comfortably say that it’s Trump country. The yards in this area have been inundated with STOP THE STEAL signage and Trump banners (obviously left out since the 2020 election was decided). It’s a neighborhood that believes in Trump and his message of MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. And amongst all that propaganda, a small reality check, sprayed on an old sheet of plywood, sits under the flagpole with a flaccid American flag. It reminded me of Robert Franks’s images of various flags in the U.S., what that all means in this society and culture and how that and those ideas permeate the world. Why do we measure ourselves under the shadow of the Americans? How is the world affected by the scale on which we have placed the Americans?

The wallpaper features phrases like “HAPPINESS IS NOT ALWAYS FUN” and “A DIFFERENT KIND OF NOTHING,” conveying a tone that’s sarcastic yet bleak, suggesting the futility of real political change. Can you elaborate on the significance of these words and why you chose them?

I think the thoughts are there to trip us up, take a second look, and perhaps frustrate us, but we are frustrated in these times. Perhaps with a spray can and some thoughts, you can put those feelings out there on a sheet of plywood on the roadside or perhaps they’re locked up in a basement in the middle of London. But in this context, REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER is the way out.

Rirkrit Tiravanija’s “A MILLION RABBIT HOLES”  is on view through November 9 at Pilar Corrias in London.