What's the point of it?

On Sunday, Mitch and I went to the Hayward Gallery to see Martin Creed's 'What's the point of it?' exhibition. His vast range of work including paintings, video, audio, collections and installations takes up the entire gallery including the outside terraces - not surprising when you see the size of some it. Repetition seems to be a running theme and his work is largely on the colourful side (in more ways than one).

As you follow the exhibition through the five rooms you never really know what to expect which I think is definitely a good thing. It's not always a pleasant surprise but a surprise none the less and surely it's good for your mind to experience the unexpected in a world full of routine? Some of it made me think, some of it made me laugh, some of it I really liked looking at including the lightbulb and neon writing installations, the pleasing arrangement of cacti (not sure what this says about me)  and the wall completely covered in adhesive tape. Some of it I didn't like - his acrylic paintings, particularly the ones of people and the video at the end just before the exit. (I confess I only watched about 10 seconds of it before running into the gift shop - Mitch and I were going to food after and if I'd stayed any longer I wouldn't have felt like eating). But, even the stuff I didn't like got a reaction, or a feeling, out of me.

The best feeling without a doubt came from Work No. 200: Half the air in a given space. A smallish sized room filled with white balloons. It's as fun as it sounds. Unless, of course, you have claustrophobia or a fear of balloons. It was a pretty weird sensation, I didn't feel trapped or suffocated but when you're in the middle of it, the balloons do press together all around you and you need to fight them away from your face in order to see. It sort of reminded me a children's ball pond. After about 3 minutes the static became a little too much (Mitch and I kept giving each other electric shocks) and we fought our way to the door. It's the last thing in the exhibition (bar the gross video) and left me feeling rather exhilarated.

It's on until the 27th April and I'd definitely recommend a visit if you're open to contemporary art. Word of warning though: there is often a queue for the balloon room and the worst time to go, according to the gallery staff, is a Sunday afternoon. They often have to stop people queueing for Work No. 200 half an hour before the gallery shuts.

Saturday was a quieter day with little more than eating, reading and a bit of sewing and quilt planning achieved but it was nice.




picture sources: Adhesive tape // Brocoli prints // Cacti