ADELAIDE.- A series of ‘social sculptures’ by Danish artist Jeppe Hein have been installed on North Terrace, offering a place of curiosity, participation and play for commuters and visitors to the City of Adelaide alike. Presented in partnership between the Art Gallery of South Australia and City of Adelaide, Jeppe Hein: Modified Social Sculptures brings three of Hein’s much-loved outdoor sculptures to Adelaide to be enjoyed all year-round.

Following installations in cities around the world including Auckland, Singapore, Indianapolis, Paris, Liverpool and Helsinki, this installation takes the forms of the ubiquitous park bench and streetlight to encourage interaction and connection between passers-by. The project reflects a shared commitment by the City of Adelaide and the Art Gallery of South Australia to strengthening art and culture in the city, creating space for cultural expression and broad public access through partnership.

Hein has enjoyed international acclaim for his influential works in galleries, museums and the public realm. His exploration of architecture and social behaviour in urban spaces has led to his Modified Social Sculptures series. His bright red benches and yellow lamps borrow the basic form of the park bench or streetlight but are tweaked, twisted or modified, making the act of using them a conscious interaction. With their adaptations, the benches in turn transform their surroundings into places of activity and engagement. Hein’s works surprise with the unexpected and encourage people to pause, explore, interact and return, supporting social connection and enriching everyday cultural experience.

AGSA Director Jason Smith says, ‘Jeppe Hein’s whimsical and witty sculptures reinvent public spaces by turning functional objects into lyrical and evocative works of art. We encourage everyone to interact and engage with these intriguing sculptures and experience the joyfulness of Jeppe Hein’s work. This project is presented in partnership with the City of Adelaide, and we pass on our thanks to Tiffany Wood and Matthias Arndt of Arndt Art Agency and to the artist for generously lending these works’.

Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art, AGSA said, ‘Jeppe Hein’s Modified Social Sculptures will shape new exchanges for commuters along the North Terrace cultural boulevard, whether they are on the journey to and from work, or visiting the gallery, museum and library. Hein’s delightful trio of benches and streetlight will create a space which is at once a sculpture garden, a playground and a place to pause’.

Jeppe Hein commented, ‘My artistic practice is about people, physical encounters, dialogue and social interaction. Viewers are an indispensable aspect of my art, and most of my installations can only be experienced if you are there’.

Hein said that the two forms of social sculpture were ‘conceived with a sincere intent to spark joy, alter perceptions, open the viewer to new experiences, and create the conditions that foster moments of empathy and fellowship’ amidst the busy North Terrace boulevard.

Hein is also represented in AGSA’s collection, through the work Medium Red and Ruby Mirror Balloon, 2023, currently on display in the Melrose Wing, Gallery 16, and acquired to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of AGSA’s Contemporary Collectors philanthropy group.

Jeppe Hein: Modified Social Sculptures will be on display from 24 January 2026 on the North Terrace Forecourt between the Art Gallery of South Australia and South Australian Museum. Free to view and accessible at all hours, the installation underscores Adelaide’s identity as a city where art is embedded in daily life and shared by all.

Jeppe Hein (born 1974, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts in Copenhagen and the Städel Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Frankfurt am Main.

Hein is widely known for his creation of experiential and interactive artworks which sit at the junction of art, architecture and technical inventions. Unique in their formal simplicity and notable for their frequent use of humour, his works engage in a lively dialogue with the traditions of minimalist sculpture and the conceptual art of the 1970s.

Hein’s works often feature surprising and captivating elements that place spectators at the centre of events and focus on the experience and perception of the surrounding space. During the past twenty years he has had numerous institutional solo exhibitions in Europe, the United States and Asia, along with an array of important group exhibitions.