The curve is a vast space within the Barbican which has on occasions really hit the mark with its displays, leading to long queues to go inside. And sometimes, it’s almost empty.
At the moment, it’s almost empty, and for a good reason.
The welsh artist, Bedwyr Williams has chopped the space up into a series of small rooms and filled them with, well, I am not really sure what.
There’s certainly art going on, but beyond that it’s very difficult to say what the art is about.
An entrance seems to be an otherworldly beach with a fire burning and music playing. Does the music mean anything, is the fire significant? No idea.
A room of small things, including a rotating torso wearing a jacket. Art, or shop window from Oxford Street? No idea.
A video that’s just a bit too high up to watch comfortably drones on and on with some odd footage. Wandering off, if you can find it, through the curtain.
At last something almost interesting — a narrow corridor through dark mountains with a glowing floor that makes a curious crunching sound as you walk over it. Wonderful for a Santa’s grotto, not sure why it’s in an art gallery.
The final room is well, just plain odd.
If someone had said cluster a load of meaningless art into a room for a laugh, they couldn’t have done better than this. That it’s actually a curated display by a single artist is just plain disappointing.
It’s free to visit, and open until the 8th January, should you want to go there.
Oh, I completely missed the crunchy corridor.
So that’s doubly disappointing.
I’m was there on Friday & I thought it was a bit of let down.