Masters of illusion will challenge your perception of sculpture at Hayward Gallery

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Thank you for signing up to Wallpaper. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Confused, wobbly, and – frankly – a little sick. When you leave the Hayward Gallery’s new show, your body might not feel quite right. Your feet have been on the ceiling and your head on the floor; you’ll have met strangers’ eyes in the mirror. Through 20 optically-oriented, sensory artworks your image will be turned upside down and inside out, reflected back, cut up and blacked out.
The artworks of ‘Space Shifters’ were made between 1960 and 2018 – a 50-year period that has seen vast changes in our landscape in every sense. Some of the artists were hippies interested in psychedelic effects, others are minimalists with pondering philosophical ideas about architecture and space. Yet despite the fact the surroundings, contexts and aims of each of these large-scale interventions may have been entirely different, they look remarkably united now – and in a world that feels the wrong way round, they provoke a familiar feeling of disorientation and imbalance.
‘To many of these artists, the viewer’s experience and the act of perception was more important than anything else,’ says Hayward Gallery senior curator Dr Cliff Lauson in an introduction to the exhibition. In Alicja Kwade’s WeltenLinie work (unveiled at the 2017 Venice Biennale) a series of illusory, steel sculptures, double-mirrors and stone-like objects, the artist confirms, what the viewers experience is a ‘phantasm rather than an object’.
WeltenLinie, 2017, by Alicja Kwade. © The artist. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
Some of the new works respond directly to the Hayward’s brutalist architecture, sculptural in form in itself: a new commission by the Spanish artist Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, is inspired by the London gallery’s iconic cast-concrete staircases; Leonor Antunes’ cascading masterpiece, discrepancies with A. (2018), which interacts with the new light-filled space in the renovated galleries, unveiled at the beginning of the year.
Other works challenge perceptions in other ways, such as Richard Wilson’s oil and mirror work, 20:50, first shown in 1987 at Matt’s Gallery, and now taking over the whole upper floor at the Hayward; or Yayoi Kusama’s scintillating, vertiginous Narcisscus Garden, a series of mirrored spheres scattered across the lower galleries glinting like fish scales. Seeing yourself differently also makes you see the world around you in an unexpected, topsy turvy way.
Of course, there’s another reason for this show, and at this time: it’s a clarion advocation for the IRL experience, in times where most people would rather scroll through exhibitions on their phone. It’s true that ‘Space Shifters’ can’t be seen on a screen – you’ll just have to get off the sofa and go. Just don’t expect to come back in one piece.
Installation view of ‘Space Shifters’ at Hayward Gallery, London. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
Installation view of ‘Space Shifters’ at Hayward Gallery, London. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
Installation view of ‘Space Shifters’ at Hayward Gallery, London. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
Installation view of 20_50, 1987, by Richard Wilson. © The artist. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
Installation view of ‘Space Shifters’ at Hayward Gallery, London. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
Installation view of Narcissus Garden, 1966, by Yayoi Kusama. © The artist. Courtesy of Hayward Gallery.
INFORMATION
‘Space Shifters’ is on view until 6 January 2019. For more information, visit the Southbank Centre website
ADDRESS
Hayward Gallery
Southbank Centre
337-338 Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Charlotte Jansen is a journalist and the author of two books on photography, Girl on Girl (2017) and Photography Now (2021). She is commissioning editor at Elephant magazine and has written on contemporary art and culture for The Guardian, the Financial Times, ELLE, the British Journal of Photography, Frieze and Artsy. Jansen is also presenter of Dior Talks podcast series, The Female Gaze.
-
Reed Krakoff ushers John Hardy jewellery into a new era, and refreshes its New York store
The ‘Spear’ jewellery collection riffs on John Hardy’s signature handwoven chain, while the boutique nods to the brand’s Balinese heritage
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
New Aesop store in Rome opens, an ode to the Eternal City
At the new Aesop Via del Corso store in Rome, architect Jakob Sprenger hosted a celebratory event with Wallpaper*, including a panel discussion chaired by contributing editor Dal Chodha
By Simon Mills Published
-
Marc Newson on his electric hydrofoil collaboration with Fliteboard
The Fliteboard x Marc Newson eFoil promises a smooth surfing experience with cutting-edge materials and space-age design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
New glass sculpture creates a verdant wonderland at Apple’s Cupertino HQ
‘Mirage’ at Apple Park is the work of Zeller & Moye and artist Katie Paterson, a shimmering array of glass columns that snakes through the grounds of the company’s monumental HQ
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Sarah Lucas at Tate Britain: humour, desire, domesticity
‘Sarah Lucas: Happy Gas’ at Tate Britain spans the four decades the artist’s career
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Heads up for London Film Festival 2023’s immersive art programme
From VR fungi to AR walks, London Film Festival 2023 announces LFF Expanded, a compelling programme of immersive art and extended realities
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Madelon Vriesendorp’s ‘sculptural interventions and playful ideas’ at The Cosmic House
A Madelon Vriesendorp exhibition opens at The Cosmic House in London, surprising and delighting visitors with its ‘sculptural interventions and playful ideas‘
By Will Jennings 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
-
Man Ray’s sculptures go on show in New York
‘Man Ray: Other Objects’ opens at Luxembourg + Co, New York, revealing their author’s ‘artistic revolution’
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Photographer David Abrahams captures quiet moments in Japan for his new London show
‘Kyushu’ is a new show from photographer David Abrahams that documents his trip to a town on the Japanese island
By Mary Cleary Published
-
Last chance to see: Devon Turnbull’s ‘HiFi Listening Room Dream No. 1’ at Lisson Gallery, London
Devon Turnbull/OJAS’ handmade sound system matches minimalist aesthetics with a profound audiophonic experience – he tells us more
By Jorinde Croese Published