The history of the Turbine Hall is steeped in the presence of machinery, and Anicka Yi's new installation In Love with the World which currently fills this space has played off this. The Aerobes, as named by Yi, are round, soft balloon like shapes based on life-forms, sort of fungi like creatures. Yet these Aerobes are machines, AI which learns and moves around their environment independently. The softness of the Aerobes, contrasted by the vast industrial feel of the Turbine Hall creates this unique atmosphere in which Yi absorbs the viewers senses. Whilst as the viewer we recognise that that these are machines, intrinsically linked to the mechanical setting, the softness of these floating Aerobes feel organic and life like. The contrast created here, and the fact this is so evident to us as the viewer creates an amusement around the work. You walk into the hall and look up in bemusement, you watch the Aerobes bob around in a child like amusement. The slight buzz of the mechanics of the Aerobes fill the air, creating an almost soothing white noise, accompanied by the use of scents which are linked to the hall further utilises our senses in the viewing experience. Yi utilises our sense of sight, sound and smell to absorb and entrance us as viewers, allowing us to enjoy this simple moment as we are amused by the work before us. The way in which Anicka Yi uses the space and our senses to create this entertaining and entrancing installation in turn raises poignant questions. The way in which we are absorb into the work via our senses creates a relaxed and comfortable space in which we admire the way in which the mechanical and the organic blend, something which is so contrasting but so familiar in our daily lives. This in turn leads us to question the ways in which this is present in our own world and life. We, the viewer, are confronted that yes the organic and mechanic have and continue to blend together in our every day life. By doing this in such a simplistic way, a way which utilises the senses, Yi asks us the viewer to question how we relate to the organic and the mechanical in a secure and calming way. This is notably different to the way many other Artist have addressed the theme of the merging of organic and mechanical, commonly approached in an almost apocalyptic manner. An example of this theme being address differently is the exhibition Kristof Kintera: The End of Fun!, shown at Ikon Gallery. Anicka Yi, In Love with the World approaches the well covered theme, the merging of mechanical and organic, in an intriguing and soft way. Anicka Yi brings the viewer into the mechanical space and encircles their senses allowing them to become absorbed by the work. This work is so effective as it allows the viewer to simple absorb and ponder, something which the Turbine Hall is so suited too. As the viewer this work is accessible, you are quite simply meant to take the work in, reflecting on this independently, Anicka Yi allowing you to be taken in by the organic in this vast space. In Love with the World simply allows the viewer to enjoy the iconic Turbine Hall, reflecting upon it as they wish, and so in turn raising fascinating questions about the world we live in, generating responses which is just as unique and organic as the spontaneous movements of the Aerobes bobbing about the hall.
Visit Anicka Yi, In Love with the World at the Tate Modern until the 16th January 2022.
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