The Wick List

Viewing Barbara Kruger’s verbal vim at the Serpentine Galleries

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You.,(Installation view, 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South)

Above Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You.,(Installation view, 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South)

The Wick Culture - Untitled (Taxis), 2024. Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South). Photo: George Darrell.

Above Untitled (Taxis), 2024. Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South). Photo: George Darrell.

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Remember me), 1988/2020 (stills), Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 23 sec. 350.1 × 250.1 cm 137 7/8 × 98 1/2 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Remember me), 1988/2020 (stills), Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 23 sec. 350.1 × 250.1 cm 137 7/8 × 98 1/2 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger, Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., Installation view, Los Angeles County Museum of Art – LACMA, Los Angeles, March 20-July 17, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: Museum Associates/LACMA

Above Barbara Kruger, Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., Installation view, Los Angeles County Museum of Art – LACMA, Los Angeles, March 20-July 17, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: Museum Associates/LACMA

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Leader), 1987/2020, Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 24 sec. 350.1 × 200.1 cm 137 7/8 × 78 3/4 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Leader), 1987/2020, Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 24 sec. 350.1 × 200.1 cm 137 7/8 × 78 3/4 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger Untitled (No Comment), 2020 Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, 9 min. 25 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (No Comment), 2020 Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, 9 min. 25 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (No Comment), 2020, Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, 9 min. 25 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger Untitled (The work is about...), 1979/2020 Single-channel video, silent, 5 min. 38 sec. Installation view, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, June 30-August 12, 2022, Courtesy the artist, Sprüth Magers and David Zwirner Gallery, Photo: Maris Hutchinson

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (The work is about…), 1979/2020 Single-channel video, silent, 5 min. 38 sec. Installation view, David Zwirner Gallery, New York, June 30-August 12, 2022, Courtesy the artist, Sprüth Magers and David Zwirner Gallery, Photo: Maris Hutchinson

The Wick Culture - Barbara Kruger Untitled (Artforum), 2016/2020 Two-channel video installation, silent, 4 min. 42 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger Untitled (Artforum), 2016/2020 Two-channel video installation, silent, 4 min. 42 sec. Installation view, BARBARA KRUGER: THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. The Art Institute of Chicago – AIC, Chicago, September 19, 2021-January 24, 2022, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers, Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago

Above Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You.,(Installation view, 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South)

Above Untitled (Taxis), 2024. Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You., 1 February – 17 March 2024, Serpentine South). Photo: George Darrell.

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Remember me), 1988/2020 (stills), Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 23 sec. 350.1 × 250.1 cm 137 7/8 × 98 1/2 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Above Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Our Leader), 1987/2020, Single-channel video on LED panel, sound, 24 sec. 350.1 × 200.1 cm 137 7/8 × 78 3/4 inches, Courtesy the artist and Sprüth Magers

Barbara Kruger: Thinking of ~~You.~~ I Mean ~~Me.~~ I Mean You
Serpentine South, Kensington Gardens

1 February – 17 March 2024

The godmother of pop art arrives at the Serpentine Galleries this week in all her loud-mouthed glory. Barbara Kruger’s pithy text statements and images spew out of the Serpentine South and into Kensington Gardens in a riotous stream of consciousness in Thinking of ~~You.~~ I Mean Me. I Mean ~~You,~~ the American artist’s first institutional show in London in over 20 years. It features installations, film, soundscapes and banners, as well as public screens courtesy of Outernet Arts.

As you step inside, the decibels immediately rise, courtesy of an audio chorus of greetings, emotions and sentiments that accompany you on your journey. Kruger often borrows language and images from advertising, graphic design and the media to probe the mechanisms of power, gender and capitalism. In Untitled (No Comment), 2020 – making its UK premiere – she splices together snippets of footage found on social media, with questions and quotes from French philosopher Voltaire and American rapper Kendrick Lamar in a three-channel video work. Steel yourself for a verbal and visual onslaught. Trust us, it’s worth it.