Michael Landy RA (b.1963) 'Disease, Idleness, Ignorance, Squalor, Want'

five plastic bins with plastic labels

98cm high

5

Footnote:

Michael Landy explores political and social issues in his artwork, particularly consumerism and the creative potential of destruction. He is best known for his 2001 performance installation 'Break Down', in which approximately 45,000 visitors witnessed the systematic destruction of all his possessions - including his car, clothing and previous artworks. Only the operatives tasked with dismantling the items had physical access to them, while Landy observed the process. The work left him with no material belongings and generated no financial gain, yet it marked the beginning of his enduring fascination with themes of destruction and deconstruction.

Landy studied at Loughborough College of Art before continuing his training at Goldsmiths College. After graduating, he exhibited in the seminal 'Freeze' exhibition in 1988, aligning him with the Young British Artists (YBAs), a group that came to define British contemporary art in the 1990s.

In 1995, Landy created 'Scrapheap Services', an installation centred around a fictional waste disposal company designed to eliminate individuals deemed no longer valuable to society. Created during a period of high unemployment and social unrest following the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher, the work serves as a pointed critique of the era’s social and economic realities. The installation featured mulched waste and drink cans cut into tiny human figures, which were then trampled by participants. These figures were collected in bins throughout the space and ultimately fed into a specially designed 'people-chipper-shredder,' adorned with representations of the five evils identified in William Beveridge’s 1942 'Social Insurance and Allied Services' report: Disease, Idleness, Ignorance, Squalor, and Want.

Condition Report:

Generally excellent condition - just minor scratches