Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

New Turbine Hall artwork unveiled

Sherna Noah
Monday 10 October 2011 06:16 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A 42ft (13m) tall film showing everything from tomatoes and mushrooms to a snail on a leaf and an escalator has been unveiled at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.

Tacita Dean's work, entitled Film, is the 12th commission in the Unilever series, which over the years has featured a cracked floor, giant slides, a huge scarlet trumpet and a mesmerising sunset in the vast space.

The 11-minute silent work is a tribute to the "magical art" of analogue film, which has been threatened by the rise of digital technology.

Dean's work, which looks like a filmstrip with sprocket holes, and contains images of the sea, trees, flowers, an eye and a grasshopper, has been projected on to the back of a darkened Turbine Hall.

The installation, by an artist known for working with film and sound, is the latest commission for the London gallery's Turbine Hall.

The space was most recently occupied by Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist whose Sunflower Seeds installation fell victim to health and safety rules.

The original plan for visitors to walk over Weiwei's 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds were scuppered because of concerns about ceramic dust, and the gallery had to cordon off the work.

Dean has filmed eclipses, sunsets, lighthouses, and eight minutes of magpies in the trees outside her studio, in her previous work.

For the Millennium Dome, she recorded sounds from around the world and placed the "soundscape" in a jukebox.

She is also known for Presentation Sisters, an hour-long film following the daily routine of five elderly residents of a convent.

The Canterbury-born 45-year-old, who is based in Berlin and was shortlisted for the 1998 Turner Prize, is the third British artist to fill the Turbine Hall, following in the footsteps of Anish Kapoor in 2002 and Rachel Whiteread in 2005.

She described her new work, which she edited by hand, as "a hell of a process" and "a labour of love", adding "for me it's a little miracle".

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in