Walking down the Turbine Hall of the Tate to be hit with this large steel sculpture initially gave me a sense of excitement and wonder. The Turbine Hall on its own holds a sense of awe but this piece adds a sense of greater expectation from the space altogether. At a glance the structure is seemingly generic in its surroundings as it wouldn't appear to be out of place in this type of setting. Upon further inspection, walking round the structure one is faced with a huge empty void that if the viewer hadn't seen its dimensions, appears to be endless.
Stepping into the darkness only guided by your feet, one is faced with an array of emotion. I was initially struck by fear, the space is pitch black with no sensory accompaniment other than the the fear of not knowing what lies ahead. After putting ones trust in the establishment, creeping on, comes a sense of relief and critique. Exploring the space with ones emotions and feet I found myself asking where do I fit into this space? Is this a lesson or task?
The whole experience did have a regimented feel. The metal felt industrial, holding a sense of purpose. There where guards (although they were invigilating the piece) monitoring your entrance in to the void. It felt as if in the event of one wanting to escape from the ramp which led to this dark space, the guards would be there to stop this action. After walking into the space I began to feel like I was being herded into a chamber at a concentration camp, the sense of unknowing and fear suddenly fell into place.
When I had made it to the back wall I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. My journey into the darkness had ended. I turned around and suddenly everything became clear. The space itself became smaller as one could now see the corners and the floor, I could now see other people undertaking their own experience of the space. Fear melted away and I felt I was left with a sense of understanding? Knowledge? That... I am not quite sure of yet.
This piece is a great tribute to fear and sensory disarray.
The Unilever Series can be seen at Tate Modern London until April 5th 2010.
Neil Batho
I really enjoyed reading your post here and I just wanted to tell you that I totally agree with what you're saying! It's hard to find people that think alike these days. Keep it up