Seat #12, 2021

Aluminium, steel, artificial leather

For Berlin- and New York-based artist Jenny Brockmann, presenting Seat#12 in Tivoli Gardens is a deliberate nod to the history of the amusement park as a space where technology and human interaction are fused to create compelling experiences. This tradition often involved experimental installations that tested innovations destined for broader society—as seen in Coney Island’s Luna Park, where new technologies were tested before their urban deployment. Architect Rem Koolhaas reflects on this in Delirious New York, highlighting the surreal interplay of fantasy and function that shaped early modern urbanism.

Seat#12 continues in this lineage, inviting viewers into a physical, social experiment that is as much about form as it is about the fragile choreography of human cooperation.

Seat#12 is an interactive sculpture mounted on a single central axis, offering seating for twelve people in a layout reminiscent of a circular conference table. The structure touches the floor at only one point, meaning the twelve aluminium branches—each ending in a seat cushion—create a tipping motion as soon as someone tries to sit down.

With its swing-like mechanics, the work sets up an unusual situation: every movement, even the smallest, made by one sitter directly affects the position of all others. A person attempting to sit must be counterbalanced by another to stabilise the sculpture. Its equilibrium depends on the sitters’ collective interaction. As more people participate, the greater the need for coordination and mutual agreement on when and how to sit. That means that the more people who wish to sit down, the clearer the agreement needs to be on when and how each individual sits. The interrelatedness between participants, their communication, and willingness or unwillingness to re-position for a collective balance, becomes part of the installation.

The seemingly futuristic object deals with communication: A voiced, or perhaps merely sensed discourse on the perfect balance inevitably evolves between those seated.

Photo: Jenny Brockmann, Seat #12, 2021, installed as part of CHART in Tivoli 2025

Courtesy of the artist, Dorothée Nilsson Gallery and CHART in Tivoli