London’s Tate Modern has unveiled the inaugural Hyundai Commission in its cavernous Turbine Hall by Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas who is best known for creating conceptual installations out of discarded materials and objects.
Titled “Empty Lot,” the epic installation consists of two stepped triangular platforms that hold a geometric grid of 240 wooden planters filled with compost and more than 23 tonnes of soil collected from parks and gardens all across London from Peckham Rye to Regent’s Park.
Extending across the entire Hall, the “floating piece of land” can be viewed from underneath or from above on the Turbine Hall bridge.
With “Empty Lot,” Cruzvillegas explores ideas of unpredictability, hope, chance, change, and the relationship between the city and nature by initiating a space where “nothing is produced but where change might happen.”
Nothing has been planted in the soil by the artist, but flowers, mushrooms, or other plant life could grow depending on what seeds were already in the soil. Lampposts constructed using found materials will light the soil for the duration of the project.
“It’s a sculpture made out of hope – that would the main material,” Cruzvillegas explains. And when I say this it is because of transformation. Even in the worst conditions you cannot lose hope, because something can happen there; something can happen here.”
“Empty Lot” is the first in a new series of annual site-specific commissions by renowned international artists made possible by a unique long-term partnership between Tate and Hyundai Motor. It is on show until April 3, 2016. More info here.
