Roger Hiorns – Seizure

Commissioned by ArtAngel, Roger Hiorns’ blue copper-sulphate installation ‘Seizure’ was nominated for the Turner Prize award in 2009. Sadly the piece lost out to a Richard’s Wright’s fresco painted directly onto one of the walls at Tate Britain.

Prior to the announcement of the Turner Prize, Seizure was first exhibited in September 2009 and backed by press and public demand, surprising reopened in December after the award had been announced. Knowing the quality and short duration of Art Angel’s commissioned pieces and the fact that pieces rarely re-open to the public, I was determined to book a train ticket and go to London.

It was my first visit to the Elephant & Castle and as I alighted at the tube station I was welcomed by a dusty roundabout surrounded by tired looking 1960s and 70s miss-match concrete buildings, rather like a theatre in the round but with an ageing audience staring blankly at a deserted stage. Thankfully it was only a short walk to the piece which was housed in one of six 1960s former council flats, destined for demolition. Usually I get a thrill from seeing artwork in unconventional spaces, however as I arrived at the fenced off and boarded up estate I was beginning to wonder whether I’d wasted the train ticket. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Although the entrance to the flat was dark, narrow and smelt of damp, once inside you could see a blow glow coming from one of the rooms. It was like an electric blue grotto! Sharp copper-sulphate crystals adorned every available nook and cranny, hung from the ceilings, clustered around pipes, filled part of a bath, like parasites...reclaiming the unwanted space everywhere. Roger Hiorns had painstakingly sealed the flat before drilling a hole in an upstairs flat and pouring in copper-sulphate solution. As the temperature dropped the solution formed crystal like shapes. The remaining solution was then drained and recycled.

After 20 or so minutes I decided to leave. The installation was overwhelming and I would have gladly stayed longer but I was aware of the queues forming outside and that only a few people were allowed in at any one time. Leaving the piece felt odd, it was such an amazing fulfilling experience and a stark contrast to the external environment. Like past ArtAngel pieces and other temporary artwork I’ve seen there was part of me that wished the installation was staying permanently, however I realise that this wouldn’t have been possible for many reasons and that I wouldn’t have had the same experience and sense of urgency to see the piece.