‘Please don’t burst in my face, please don’t burst in my face’ I repeated to myself as I walked through a sea of white balloons.
Childhood fears resurface…
If you’re in London and need some cheering up, head to Martin Creed’s exhibition What’s the point of it? which features a room filled with white balloons – it’s worth the £11 entrance fee alone.
Half the air in a given space
From the outside the room doesn’t look that big, but once inside you’re senses are distorted and before you know it, you’re lost. Not that you mind because you’re having way too much fun to care. Yes, there was a real fear that one or one hundred balloons could pop in my face any second, but for the most part I had a huge grin across my face as I (carefully) waded aimlessly, bumping into fellow visitors as I went. If you do get lost, look up and you might find the exit sign.
Exit sign in Half the air in a given space
What’s the point of Work. 200 Half the air in a given space? Air is something we take for granted – it’s just always there. By using balloons to represent the air, it becomes clearly visible and makes us aware.
At least that’s what it says in the children’s guide to the exhibition. While it may be aimed at children, I thoroughly recommend picking one up before entering as it gives a little more information on various pieces of work. Not only that, it makes you think and reflect too. For example, it suggests Creed uses different colours of balloons – would this have changed the way you experienced the space? I think it would have as white is a good colour to represent air – the colour also made me think of clouds as if I was flying through them! Had they been blue on the other hand, I would have associated the feeling to the sea and swimming. Luckily they weren’t blue as I can’t swim and would have probably panicked even more.
Without the guide challenging me to think more about the work, I wouldn’t have come to this conclusion. I think all art exhibitions should have a children’s guide!
A children’s guide to Martin Creed What’s the point of it
While Creed has suggested he doesn’t know what it is, I think it befits the mindset of every art goer – what is the point of it? Is a crumpled ball of paper really art?
This first major survey of the artists career which spans two and half decades also includes a piano which shuts its lid loudly, a large wall covered with framed prints of broccoli and many pieces of paper coloured in, just to name a few. A special mention has to go to the large and spinning ( and slightly frightening neon sign as you enter the exhibition. If you are tall, you may want to enter with some trepidation… you have been warned. One of the pieces of art that I didn’t care much for was a film of a woman taking a dump. Apparently the films continues with a woman being sick, but I didn’t stick around after the first five seconds of the previous woman.
What was your favourite piece of art in What’s the point of it? Did the room filled with balloons make you smile? Tell me in the comments section below.
