Purple Institute
[October 7 2014]
Read Olivier Zahm’s exclusive interview with Thomas Hirshhorn in Purple Fashion #22 out now
THE QUESTION OF MATERIALS You are known for using cheap, recycled building and temporary materials, such as cardboard, tape, polystyrene, and felt pens — how is this a political choice?
Thomas hirschhorn — These materials don’t want to be intimidating. They don’t embody the exclusion so often used in contemporary art. They are materials which always leave an open door to another activity or use, construction or work materials. They are universal materials, available to all, with no added value. I use them because I want to work with what is around me, with what is available and accessible to me and therefore also accessible to others. That makes it a political choice. Besides, I pay the price for deciding to use these materials; people may accuse me of always using tape — a kind of criticism I can understand — but having made a political decision, I remain consistent.
Read more from the interview with Thomas Hirshhorn by Olivier Zahm in Purple Fashion magazine #22. Click here to buy
