Nothing is Permanent

As part of Nothing Is Permanent, a sculpture exhibition in Esch-sur-Alzette.

Jeppe Hein developed the concept of the social bench as a social experiment. The bench designs borrow their basic form from the ubiquitous park or garden bench, but are altered to various degrees to make the act of sitting a conscious physical endeavour. With their modifications, the benches transform their surroundings into places of activity rather than rest and solitude; they foster exchange between the users and the passers-by, thus lending the work a social quality. Due to their alterations, the benches end up somewhere between a dysfunctional object and a functional piece of furniture, and therefore demonstrate the contradiction between artwork and functional object.“

Each Modified Social Bench offers an excellent opportunity for social interaction, for playfulness, laughter as well as communication and thus can be a sign for understanding and dialogue, for empathy and love—a tool that is needed in times like these,” Hein said.