Exhibition Review: Tania Bruguera: 10,145,915

Abstract

Tania Bruguera: 10,145,915: Tate Modern , by Yoli Terziyska. London, UK: October 2, 2018–February 24, 2019. When this sentence was written, the title of Tania Bruguera’s recent exhibition at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall was 10,145,915 . For the duration of the installation, the title changed to reflect the sum of two changing figures: the number of recorded migrants globally plus the number of migrant deaths since the beginning of 2018. The steady increase of that figure was communicated with a stamp pressed on each visitor’s hand when they entered a small gallery off the Turbine Hall—the title did not appear in an exhibit’s typical places, such as on posters and brochures. It was unclear how frequently the stamp was changed, as the numeric title was dependent on information supplied by the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The project tracks incidents involving migrants who have died, or have gone missing, in the process of migration toward an international destination. The numbers revealed are publicly available on IOM’s online platform. Apart from the title, the exhibition was formed by three apparent elements: a heat-sensitive floor covering the Turbine Hall, a small “crying room” adjacent to the hall, and a sub-bass noise projected into the two spaces. The museum labels suggested that each element highlighted the necessity for collective action for social change to take place. This sentiment was contradicted by each element’s futility—the heat-sensitive floor was meant to reveal an image of a Syrian refugee on the floor when a large enough number of visitors simultaneously interacted with the installation. The intended result was nearly impossible to coordinate because it would take a considerable quantity of bodies to simultaneously touch the floor—a number that Bruguera guessed to be one hundred fifty to two hundred.1 The “crying room” contained an organic chemical substance that elicited collective crying without an emotional impetus. The eerie …