ART: Pierre Huyghe – Celebration Park

I just managed to catch Pierre Huyghe’s show at the Tate Modern on the final day and I’m glad I did. The collection includes work by the artist and a number of collaborators, including video, moving sculpture installations and poster art.

The looped films are the biggest pieces, shown on enormous screens that fill the wall of large blackened rooms. The fact that they are looped with no warning of the start or end point adds a level of personal experience, as everyone’s perspective begins at a different point.

The best film sees puppets stalked by a dark, beetle-like creature, which was made all the more surreal by the lights on a young visitor’s trainers that flashed every time he stopped running around.

My highlight of the exhibition is the two giant white doors that move across a room on runners. I was lucky enough to be confronted by them as they ended their journey at the entrance to the room, halting my access for a moment before they slowly withdrew back where they had come from.

Other startling pieces used large florescent lighting to spell out humble expressions, such as “I do not own Tate Modern or the Death Star” or “I do not own modern times, I do not own Snow White”.

There were some disappointments, including a difficult to penetrate film showing a harsh wind gnarled environment. However, overall, it was a visit that managed to provoke ideas and social commentary, and for that it was well worth it.