Mark Dion, The Dark Museum

Mark Dion
The Dark Museum, 2011
Wooden hut, carpet, iron and Komodo display case
300 x 440 x 420 cm
Unique piece
Courtesy of the artist and galerie In Situ - fabienne leclerc, Grand Paris

The Dark Museum resembles a cabinet of curiosities, a hunter's hut like those found in the forests of children's fairy tales. Inside, Mark Dion has chosen to bring together objects that have nothing in common: the skeleton of a Komodo dragon, crockery, jewelry, playing cards, coins and animal busts. The figure of the Komodo dragon is used by the artist to signify the fragility of the living, sacralized by the display case that covers it. The objects on which the skeleton rests testify to the ephemeral nature of human existence. The hunting trophies add to the discomfort and strangeness of the composition. In this work, Mark Dion overturns the traditional aesthetic of the museum, preferring the sombre and prosaic. He proposes a critical reading of the relationship between humans and the living.

Born in 1961 in New Bedford, USA. Lives and works in New York, USA. Known for his complex installations inspired by curiosity cabinets and scientific laboratories, Mark Dion His work explores the construction of scientific knowledge and discourse since antiquity. His projects often take on the trappings of a naturalist or archaeological expedition, sometimes involving the figure of the artist whose dress and gestures mimic those of the explorer, biochemist, detective or archaeologist.