Anish Kapoor - Royal Academy, London
Kapoor is one of the most influential and pioneering sculptors of his generation. The first living artist to be given a solo show at the Royal Academy. He has created the most uplifting use of the courtyard at Burlington House yet seen. A giant tower of 75 spheres suspended as if by magic, reflecting the beautiful surrounding architecture.For many this will be their first taste of Kapoor’s work, made all the more appealing because they can see his courtyard piece for free. All
they have to do is nip in through the gates and take a peep.
Within the exhibition his work with reflection is bold and instantly appealing. Large metal objects with concave surfaces play with the notion of space. Who can resist checking out their reflection, especially when such mind bending play is made of it? Don’t expect to see anything there that you recognise.
More intriguing still is a 35 ton piece of cast wax that slowly moves on rails, crossing the breadth of Burlington House, through five galleries, leaving a residue in its wake, entitled ‘Svayambh’ (meaning
‘auto-generated’).
Kapoor likes to explore the idea of sculptural works that actively participate in their own formation and this is the piece that intrigues me most. How diminished will this great block be by the time I get there? ‘It conjures up associations for me, of those thick dusty Crayola crayons of early school days and the smell of wax when colouring in!’ (Doubtless this is special wax and there will be none of those nostalgic overtones. But it’s a nice thought!)
What bureaucratic and logistical headaches did this intriguing work create for everyone? What of the wear and tear on the building? The doorways that are now out of use, creating potential havoc for those attending the exhibition? Who gets the job of scraping off the stray red wax splats afterwards? How is the texture of the wax arrived at in the first place? It would be important that it doesn’t melt too little or, indeed, too much. It’s mad and brilliant, and moves so slowly that it takes an hour and a half to complete the journey. So maybe concerns about melting wax are just a bit fanciful
Stranger still is the idea of his wax canon ‘Shooting into the Corner’. 10 kg wax pellets are fired from the gallery into the corner of a small ante room. The effect is gory and violent. As Kapoor says, it depicts the fact that, as he sees it, ‘to make a mark in the world is an act of violence’ in itself. The wax on the wall will build as long as the exhibition runs. Have the gallery attendants been issued with earplugs? Who ran the Health & Safety checks?!
Posted by Katie Barr-Sim 11 months ago in Art
About Katie Barr-Sim
Katie is a business development director. She still wonders what she’ll be when she grows up but has always had a keen eye for design and a way with words.