Mark Wallinger

Much of Wallinger’s work raises social issues. Yet his art never assumes a pamphleteering character. Due to their hidden connotations and absurdities, the works elude unambiguous interpretation. Also where his own name is concerned, Wallinger manages to make optimal use of its ambiguity. One hundred different chairs have been marked with the letters mark. Do these inscriptions tell us that the artist’s name is Mark? Is Mark the owner of the hundred chairs, or are they intended for people (including, perhaps, Wallinger himself) named Mark? Or does it refer to Mark the Evangelist? It’s also possible, however, that the chairs have simply been inscribed with the verb that literally describes this: to mark. The cords suggest puppetry, a perspectival study as well as a moment of radiation and emanation.