Behind the Red Moon is the title of El Anatsui’s installation for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.
Made of possibly millions of bottle tops and discarded materials all painstakingly attached together with wire and thread, these huge pieces fill the space, dwarfing us humans. The Red Moon, seen as you enter the hall, resembles a billowing sail. Turn around and it isn’t simply the reverse (I checked). It’s another shimmering layer.
After this there’s a collection of floating shapes suspended from rods – I saw them as flying creatures which, viewed from a certain angle, form a globe.
Beyond this I literally gasped… a shimmering waterfall stretches from the hall ceiling, puddling over the floor. This is awe-inspiring and a little terrifying if that makes sense: wonder and fear at the same time.
A cliff, a wall, something that holds back and constrains yet also surging forward, threatening to engulf us.
Walk behind it to see the growth of something colourful and organic, complex and rich in contrast to the formidable facade.
Let’s hear it for the art installers and technicians as their job hanging all this can not have been easy.