Elmgreen & Dragset’s Swann-song of British aristocracy at Galerie Perrotin

A new tenant has lately taken up residence in the Galerie Perrotin’s New York location on the Upper East Side—Norman Swann. This remarkably fleshed-out character was created by the artists Elmgreen & Dragset, and he previously “occupied” the Victoria & Albert Museum in the immersive installation Tomorrow (2013), which was meant to recreate Swann’s London home. As Norman's story continues in a new installation called, appropriately, Past Tomorrow, the elderly former architect has since sold off many of his belongings and resettled in New York, where the Galerie Perrotin’s high-ceilinged space, painted deep red, serves as his bedroom. The show (until 23 May) is a treat for those who find it difficult to look but not touch—an album of old photos on an ottoman can be perused at will, the silky-soft sheets of Swann’s bed can be carressed, the books flipped through. Elmgreen & Dragset’s installation is an impressively cohesive and detailed biography of Swann, who “was always in a very posh environment, but he was never the main figure”, Elmgreen told The Art Newspaper. It is also a glimpse of the swansong of the British aristocracy and upper classes. Looking at a medal of the Order of the British Empire on Norman’s wall, Elmgreen recalls a recent run-in with a recipient of the award, a socialist professor in sociology. “I asked him how can it be that the order of the British Empire didn’t shrink according to the empire, so it should be a tiny little medal today. I thought he would find it really funny, but he got really sour.”