Growth opportunity: Abraham Cruzvillegas at the Tate Turbine Hall
An 'empty lot' is a space in a city where anything may happen. The new Tate Modern Turbine Hall exhibition 'Empty Lot', however, is the newest of Mexican sculptor Abraham Cruzvillegas' 'self-portraits'. A portrait not only of himself, but also of his generation: at this time, we are all empty lots waiting for change. Two-hundred-and-forty triangular containers of soil collected from parks and gardens across London have been elevated on two platforms extending from the centre of the room.
Earth from Buckingham Palace gardens lies anonymous among more modest soils. The containers are neither named nor ordered – Cruzvillegas wanted to see them all considered equal in their potential for development. Nothing has been intentionally planted, but the soil may already contain the seeds of potential growth. Horticultural lights surround the structure and it will be regularly watered. Mark Godfrey, senior curator of this project, and Cruzvillegas even anticipate 'seed-bombing' by visitors over the next few months. An apple core has already been dropped into one of the trays, and a small mushroom has grown from another.
The structure is held up by scaffolding, which Cruzvillegas assures us is a key part of the artwork, despite the distancing effect it has between the exhibition and its visitors. The two triangles extending from the centre platform not only form a compass to point equally east and west, but also a neatly tessellated pattern inspired by the architect Buckminster Fuller.
'Empty Lot' is Cruzvillegas' inaugural Turbine Hall installation – and the first under the Hyundai Commission banner, replacing the Tate's prior Unilever Commission – though much of his previous work has been acquired for the Tate's permanent collection. The space and time provided to the artist have been key to the work. Six months forms a countdown for something (or nothing) to emerge from these containers. The vast size of the construction only goes to highlight the scale of what visitors will actually be looking for: the smallest signs of growth and germination, the tiniest hints of change.
INFORMATION
’Hyundai Commission 2015: Abraham Cruzvillegas: Empty Lot’ is on view until 3 April 2016
Photography: Andrew Dunkley, courtesy Tate
ADDRESS
Tate Modern
Bankside
London, SE1 9TG
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice Biennale
The best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
By Jack Moss Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auction
The proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
By Jack Moss Published
-
Step into Yoko Ono’s immersive world at Tate Modern
‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’ spans the artist and activist's work from the 1950s to the present day
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Frieze London 2023: what to see and do
Everything you want to see at Frieze London 2023 and around the city in our frequently updated guide
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Tate Modern announces The Infinities Commission for rising contemporary artists
Tate Modern’s new Infinities Commission will support experimental work from around the world
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The best London art exhibitions to see now
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Remote Antarctica research base now houses a striking new art installation
In Antarctica, Kyiv-based architecture studio Balbek Bureau has unveiled ‘Home. Memories’, a poignant art installation at the remote, penguin-inhabited Vernadsky Research Base
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Ryoji Ikeda and Grönlund-Nisunen saturate Berlin gallery in sound, vision and visceral sensation
At Esther Schipper gallery Berlin, artists Ryoji Ikeda and Grönlund-Nisunen draw on the elemental forces of sound and light in a meditative and disorienting joint exhibition
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Cecilia Vicuña’s ‘Brain Forest Quipu’ wins Best Art Installation in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design Awards
Brain Forest Quipu, Cecilia Vicuña's Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern, has been crowned 'Best Art Installation' in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design Awards
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Michael Heizer’s Nevada ‘City’: the land art masterpiece that took 50 years to conceive
Michael Heizer’s City in the Nevada Desert (1972-2022) has been awarded ‘Best eighth wonder’ in the 2023 Wallpaper* design awards. We explore how this staggering example of land art came to be
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published