ABSTRACT
Two large anodised aluminium frames, or platforms, of equal size hang from the ceiling in Stockholm’s Moderna Museet. Liam Gillick’s twinning of the platforms complicates perception; when the visitor stands beneath one platform, their reflection is refracted into the other. The platforms become a backdrop or social sculpture defined by human relations. Twinned Renegotiation Platforms, for instance, at first glance resembles the dropped ceilings endemic to modern commercial buildings and the word ‘renegotiation’ in the title references the change management jargon of corporate leadership and consultants. By establishing a platform as meeting space where groups could reflect upon and enact their own forms of democracy, Goshka Macuga aimed to underscore for the gallery its critical role as a political force. Gillick and Macuga deploy the trope of the platform to complicate issues of participation and create opportunities to critique, reimagine and perform acts of democracy.
