Artist Jeppe Hein mod­i­fies con­ven­tion­al park bench­es. As a result, sit­ting, along with all oth­er activ­i­ties that nor­mal­ly take place on park bench­es, is often made almost impos­si­ble. Because the altered park bench­es have kinked sur­faces. Some­times the seat­ing area is miss­ing. Some bench­es have such long legs that you would need a lad­der to sit on them. How­ev­er, oth­ers are usable or even more use­ful than con­ven­tion­al bench­es, for exam­ple, if they enable a con­ver­sa­tion with eye con­tact. Still oth­ers invite com­par­isons to play­ground equip­ment. As a result, the mod­i­fied forms of the ordi­nary park bench insti­gate dis­cus­sions and con­ver­sa­tions about the design of pub­lic space. Also, about for what and for whom pub­lic space is, or should be, designed.

Link to Audio guide