It has been raining for years now, not a day, not an hour without rain. This continual water has had a strange effect on urban sculptures. They have started to grow like giant tropical plants, and become even more monumental. To stop this growth it has been decided to store them inside, among hundreds of bunk beds which, night and day, receive refuges from the rain … Turbine Hall/2058/London …

I must admit when I heard about the latest installation in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern I had focused simply on the spider. In fact that very night after having seen the pic in the newspaper I proceeded to have one of the most disturbing dreams I’ve had in a while involving a giant spider web and lots of death. *Shudder* So, I was a little concerned that going to the Tate Modern yesterday was going to give me further nightmares. In fact I did have a nightmare which involved a wraith which attacked me and was scary enough to scare me awake! 🙁

The current Turbine Hall insallation may seem a little familiar. At a basic level Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s “TH.2058” involves 200 metal bunk beds laid out in rows all with books basically relating to a city under attack or science fiction novels featuring some sort of impending apocalypse. The beds conveying the sense of the shelter where people are hiding.

As the italicised writing (written at the “entrance” to the installation) at the beginning of this post indicates whilst in this shelter it has been raining for what seems like forever and this has caused certain sculptures to grow by 25% .. hence the familiarity as you are presented with recycled and enlarged versions of Louise Bourgeois’s spider, Alexander Calder’s flamingo and Claes Oldenburg’s oversized apple core.

I’m not quite sure what to make of this piece of art as I’ve read it has been critically panned with a lot of reviewers criticising it for not having much originality nor depth. Irrespective I’m sure it will continue to draw hordes of visitors whether they appreciate it or not.