- Venue
- Hayward Gallery
- Location
Light Show features work from the past 50 years where artists have used the medium of light as a major component in their practice, from fluorescent pioneer Dan Flavin, to inventive collaborators Fischli and Weiss.
Exhibitions put together by themes make curated choices more obvious – every curator would have made a different selection here. If you know a bit about art, you may immediately think about many artists and works they could have included in this but didn’t. As a representation of artists using light in their work as a sculptural medium, the exhibition favours bright and flashing works over more subtle use of light, although most approaches are at least included. The only real drawback to this is the visual impact and disturbance of light levels burning into your retina. If this is not a problem for you, then stare and go into the light, and if you are a migraine sufferer, as this reviewer is, it may well be worth the inevitable headache to go anyway, although there are several rooms you will not be able to stay in for long.
As an exploration of the visual impact of light, and the acknowledgement of its psychological effect, it almost seems like an omission not to have a side narrative or more scientific collaboration studying how such optical effects are experienced and perceived by viewers.
Nonetheless, it is genuinely fun and exciting to wander through to discover what the next work might be. The Hayward Gallery is a concrete 70’s construction, inside and out, and the light sculptures have found sympathetic and responsive spaces within the complex. Very dark spaces lead to some disorientating works. Iván Navarro’s Reality Show is a cubicle you can go inside for infinite reflections which give an experience of scrutiny, a political comment on repressive regimes such as in his native Chile. Anthony McCall’s installation, You and I, Horizontal delightfully allows you to be a part of the work and see the haze effect from within. The finale piece, Olafur Eliasson’s strobe-lit water fountains is a marvel amongst memorable favourites.
This block buster show is proving extremely popular, as no matter their meaning, we all like to look at beauty and to be amazed by optical phenomena. Popularity means queues, and so be advised to visit early.
