Aleksandra Mir: Triumph

The artist's striking installation of 2,529 sports trophies integrates the group exhibition Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport at the South London Gallery.

Aleksandra Mir's striking Triumph installation opened yesterday at the South London Gallery as part of the Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport exhibition. This group show coincides with the passage of the torch and the 2012 London Olympics, and also features works by Michel Auder, Roderick Buchanan, John Gerrard, Lucy Gunning, Janice Kerbel, Jonathan Monk, Ariel Orozco, and Paul Pfeiffer.

Originally commissioned and exhibited at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt in 2009, Triumph is inspired by an old friend of Mir's who in his youth was a famous athlete and had kept the memories of his success; in Palermo, Mir collected trophies of all kinds of sports, dating from 1940, cleaned and stored them.

In the installation, trophies are arranged individually and in groups on pedestals and on the floor, or stacked above the one another like debris. Mir explores the power of the trophy, symbol of success in an area that produces a striking mass of little value. On 12 September, at 19:00, Mir will discuss her work and the current installation with Alice Rawsthorn, design critic of the International Herald Tribune.

Through 14 September, 2012
Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport
South London Gallery
London

Top and above: Aleksandra Mir, <em>Triumph</em>, 2,529 trophies, 2012, installation view at the South London Gallery as part of the exhibition <em>Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport</em>. Image courtesy the artist and the South London Gallery. Photo by Andy Keate — Top and above: Aleksandra Mir, *Triumph*, 2,529 trophies, 2012, installation view at the South London Gallery as part of the exhibition *Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport*. Image courtesy the artist and the South London Gallery. Photo by Andy Keate

Aleksandra Mir, <em>Triumph</em>, 2,529 trophies, 2012, installation view at the South London Gallery as part of the exhibition <em>Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport</em>. Image courtesy the artist and the South London Gallery. Photo by Andy Keate — Aleksandra Mir, *Triumph*, 2,529 trophies, 2012, installation view at the South London Gallery as part of the exhibition *Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport*. Image courtesy the artist and the South London Gallery. Photo by Andy Keate

John Gerrard, <em>Exercise (Djibouti) 2012</em>, 2012, installation view at the Southwark Old Town Hall as part of the exhibition <em>Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport</em>. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery, London — John Gerrard, *Exercise (Djibouti) 2012*, 2012, installation view at the Southwark Old Town Hall as part of the exhibition *Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport*. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery, London

Aleksandra Mir: Triumph

The artist's striking installation of 2,529 sports trophies integrates the group exhibition Pursuit of Perfection: The Politics of Sport at the South London Gallery.

Latest on News

Latest on Domus