WIDN blog
Another chance to see Roger Hiorns' Seizure
July 22, 2009
By Jamie Mitchell
Roger Hiorns at Seizure. Photography by Nick Cobbing, courtesy of Artangel.
It might not be interior design as we would usually think of it, but Turner Prize-nominated artist Roger Hiorns’ Seizure, a work of art which has turned a south London council flat into a cavern of twinkling blue crystals, is a parable of the often grim reality of modernist planning – and it’s well worth paying a visit when it reopens this month.
When it first opened to the public late last year, Seizure caused quite a stir, not least because of the unusual sight of art fans, queuing up outside a low-rise council block near the Elephant and Castle to don rubber boots and gloves before plunging into an inner-city cave.
It’s strangely beautiful, but walking among the mesmerising growths of copper sulphate I couldn’t help thinking about the building's faceless concrete exterior and the inadequacy of its design. In this way, Hiorns' work highlights the responsibility of architects and interior designers to replace these failed projects with buildings which are more conducive to life.
Seizure will be open 23 July-18 October at 151-198 Harper Road, London SE1. Entry is free. For more information see www.artangel.org.uk
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