The Long Now, an exhibition celebrating 40 years of the Saatchi Gallery is on till the 26th of April.
One of the highlights for me was Richard Wilson’s 20:50. I had heard about this piece when it was first exhibited but had never experienced it in real life till now.
First a description. The room is filled at waist-height with recycled sump oil, thick black engine oil drained from vehicle engines. The black you see in the photos is the walkway into the space, the mirror-like surface the oil.
It’s very powerful on many levels. These images will, I hope, give you some idea – I got an overwhelming feeling of vertigo when looking and have only included shots showing the edges as others I took now make no sense.
The text outside talks about it being a meditation on consumption and environmental uncertainty. It is that of course, but the visceral experience is so much more. Fragility, illusion, disorientation, danger and temptation are all words that come to mind.
Beauty too with a sense of unease and ambivalence.
You really do have to see it if you can.
