Fondazione Prada Useless Bodies? - Elmgreen & Dragset

Spanning more than 3,000 square meters, “Useless Bodies?” is one of the most ambitious thematic investigations realized by Fondazione Prada to date. Conceived for four gallery spaces and the courtyard of its Milan venue, the exhibition explores the present condition of the body in the post-industrial age in which it seems that our physical presence is losing its centrality or is even completely superfluous. This shift impacts every aspect of our lives: from our working conditions to our health, our interpersonal relationships, and the way we retain information. The exhibition “Useless Bodies?” also explores how we physically adapt to a world increasingly based on two-dimensional imagery, not least in the light of the current pandemic. Conceived as a thematic extension of the exhibition rather than a conventional catalogue. It is a reader with multiple perspectives from over 35 authors ―philosophers, artists, writers, scientists, and thinkers― addressing our changing perceptions of the body and its status today. With texts by Marc Abélès, Anita Allen, Paola Antonelli, Benedetta Barzini, Claudia Bianchi, Lisa Blackman, Rosi Braidotti, Maria Luisa Catoni, Beatriz Colomina, Kate Crawford, Ezio Di Nucci, John Drury, Elmgreen & Dragset, Roderick A. Ferguson, Flavia Frigeri, Niccolò Gravina, Jamie Hakim, Jack Halberstam, Maki Hirayama, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Leah Kelly, Leslie Kern, Eben Kirskey, Rem Koolhaas, Firoza Kothari, David Le Breton, Geert Lovink, Mario Mainetti, Christian Marazzi, Francesca Minerva, Park Han-hee, David Pearce, Miuccia Prada, Roberta Sassatelli, Salvatore Settis, Xinyuan Wang, McKenzie Wark, Bernadette Wegenstein.