United Visual Artists' meditative 'Momentum' installation swings into action at London's Barbican
Watch United Visual Artists' installation in motion in the Barbican's Curve gallery
United Visual Artists' 'Momentum' project comprises a series of 12 objects that slowly oscillate in the dark void of the Barbican Gallery's 90m long Curve space in London. The installation takes its cue from the idea of Foucault's pendulum - an instrument designed to visualise invisible forces, such as the Earth's rotation.
Every single part of the project - from the electronics to the mechanics - has been researched and custom-built by UVA over nine months. Each swinging element has its own 3D-printed acoustic-chamber, playing out a broad-textural soundtrack, and a light source that cuts a 360 degree plane through the smoke-filled void.
At first the modular system appears to swing in sync to the rhythm of a pendulum, holding the viewer in a state of suspended belief. However, every five minutes or so, small variations to the movement warp onlookers' perception. 'We can really play with time and slow things down very subtly,' says Matthew Clark, one of the founding members of UVA. 'We have absolute control over the mechanics.'
Momentum is about exploring the tension between synthesised and natural movement. But in the words of UVA-designer Ben Kreukniet: 'Physics doesn't like it when you try and take control.' And in the rafters of the Curve, a hidden battle with gravity takes place - where a system of 30kg counterweights, on two axes of rotation, utilise motors that can push and pull each element into place - an engineering project many firms 'wouldn't touch'.
The lean, entirely functional one kilo objects have a beauty of their own, but the near-formless space they define - through an array of light and managed Doppler-effects - becomes the artwork viewers can't ignore. 'We're constantly bombarded with visual noise,' says Clark. 'So we just want to create a place where, for a certain amount of time, people can lose themselves in a moment.'
ADDRESS
Barbican Centre
Silk Street
London EC2Y 8DS
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
A new limited-edition Rhodes piano and Gibson doubleneck guitar aim for the stars
The new Rhodes Mk8 Earth Edition piano and Gibson Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck guitar revisit classic instruments at a price
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The new interior design trends we spotted at Salone del Mobile 2024
These are the interior design trends to look out for in 2024 and beyond, from soft upholstery to conversation pits and low dining
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Tiffany & Co nods to its theatrical history with a surreal new campaign
Tiffany & Co campaign ‘With Love, Since 1837’ sees Dan Tobin Smith and set designer Rachel Thomas create an offbeat set
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Ibrahim Mahama tells us why he has covered the Barbican in pink fabric
Ibrahim Mahama's 'Purple Hibiscus' has transformed the Barbican’s Lakeside Terrace
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Ranjani Shettar’s site-specific sculptures unveiled in Barbican Conservatory
Ranjani Shettar’s ‘Cloud songs on the horizon’ suspends sculptures amid the Barbican Conservatory’s plant life
By Francesca Perry Published
-
Forty years of the Barbican Centre: an art utopia made concrete
Building Utopia: The Barbican Centre, published to coincide with the institution’s 40th anniversary, explores the birth of the Barbican, its storied history and its unparalleled impact on contemporary arts and culture
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Last updated
-
Shilpa Gupta at the Barbican: social injustice, censorship and poetry
In the multipart show ‘Sun at Night’ at London’s Barbican, Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta highlights the fragility of free expression and gives a voice to those silenced
By Cleo Roberts-Komireddi Last updated
-
The nuances of AI dissected at London's Barbican Centre
By Nick Compton Last updated
-
Star cast produces Merce Cunningham’s centenary ballet
Night of 100 solos is an intimate yet far-reaching performance event, with set design by the late Richard Hamilton, and music in part by Christian Marclay
By Elly Parsons Published
-
The photographers who captured rebels, rejects and outcasts on the edges of society
By Charlotte Jansen Last updated
-
Lip service: Ragnar Kjartansson sets tongues wagging at the Barbican
By Elly Parsons Last updated