Material as Message

Interesting exhibition at Tate Britain bringing together five large works which invite you to participate.

The works were in the large gallery upstairs and looked great in the space and some of them were of a temporary nature.

My favourite was Vong Phaophanit's "Neon Rice Field" from 1993. On first glance I liked the way you couldn't see all the neon stripes until you walked around it but I was then fascinated to read how it is made of rice as a symbol for Asia and that the rice is collected, processed and given to food banks after the showing.

Lydia Ourahmane's "The Third Choir" from 2014 placed mobile phones in empty oil barrels playing different FM radio channels with the signal improving as you lent over them.

I also liked Anya Gallaccio's "reserve beauty" from 1991-2003 which consists of 2000 mass-produced red gerbera flowers installed in full bloom which die and decay during the show. Each time it is shown it is reinstated with new flowers.

Closes 24 January 2024


 

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