Not, definitely, an enormous non-subliminal reference to East London’s trendy White Cube gallery,
just a new attempt to happily occupy Tate Modern’s intimidating Turbine Hall. Rachel Whiteread is the latest of those trying to shout loud enough to be heard. Does she succeed? Do thousands of little negative spaces add up to a positive here? Well… kind of.

Ziggurats built from these blocks of white plastic tower above more orderly piles between which people weave their wondering way. At ground level it’s a little like a lost Inca city without the parrots and vegetation. Or, Machu Pichu without the mobile phones. From above though, watching people move around and through the exhibit, it’s endlessly interesting. There are jobs which involve looking at the way crowds behave to see, for instance, where fire exits in new buildings should be. Here the crowd moves much like a fluid. Individuals clearly want to behave in random ways - hey, we’re art lovers - and occasionally they succeed. But broadly speaking they act collectively; flowing up toward the ziggurat at the top of the picture and then, like a tidal river, flowing back.

Labels: Was that a Camel?

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