With just a few days to go, this is the last chance to see the London born, Los Angeles-based artist Walead Beshty’s new work for the Curve gallery in the Barbican Centre.
With the extremely wordy title of A Partial Disassembling of an Invention Without a Future: Helter-Skelter and Random Notes in Which the Pulleys and Cogwheels Are Lying Around at Random All Over the Workbench this massive work comprises over 12,000 cyanotype prints made by Beshty over the course of a year. They have been installed from floor to ceiling, attached directly to the gallery wall with no gaps or frames and they run the full length of the 90-metre long wall of the Curve.
The process began in Beshty’s studio in LA in October 2013 and culminates in London, with the last group of cyanotypes made with materials sourced from the Barbican and its surrounding area during his month-long residency in the city. The installation is presented in chronological order with the work being read as a visual timeline, the shifts in appearance reflecting the artist’s physical and temporal location. A central platform, specially designed by London-based David Kohn Architects and constructed using recycled materials from a previous Barbican exhibition, gives the visitor the chance to look at the installation from a different vantage point.
This is the latest in a series of commissions for the Curve. They have been often weird, sometimes quite wonderful and occasionally stunning (google The Rain Room!) This one is at the weird and not very wonderful end of the spectrum but might be worth taking a wander through if you are at the Barbican and have a few minutes to spare before a performance.
Admission FREE
The Curve
Barbican Centre
London EC2
Opening times:
Sat – Wed 11am–8pm
Thu – Fri 11am–9pm
Bank Holidays 12pm–8pm
The London Art File 