The Populace is conceived as a single large-scale installation rather than a conventional exhibition of separate works. Beier and Miller populate the subterranean gallery with staged mannequins positioned opposite photographs of historical portraits. Everything appears recognisable — people, clothes, faces, poses — yet none of it feels completely real.

The pairing connects two different systems for representing people. Portrait painting traditionally emphasised individuality, status and permanence; the commercial mannequin reduces the human body to a standardised form designed to sell mass-produced goods. Placed together, they raise questions about how identity is manufactured, how images assign social value and what distinguishes an individual from a type. The exhibition also plays continuously with reproduction: the historical paintings themselves are present only through photographic images.

Nina Beier (b. 1975, Denmark) is known for taking familiar objects and removing them from the systems in which they normally function. Commodities, decorative objects and representations of the human body become tools for investigating value, circulation and cultural meaning.

John Miller (b. 1954, USA) has worked since the late 1970s across sculpture, painting, photography and installation. Consumer culture, identity and the relationship between viewer and artwork recur throughout his practice. Beier and Miller have collaborated since 2018, and The Populace is their most ambitious joint project to date.

A thought-provoking stop for those interested in conceptual art and the psychological effects of consumerism on our sense of self.

Walk slowly between the figures to experience the uncanny feeling of being watched by both the sculptures and the portraits on the walls.