the latest installation in the turbine hall at the tate modern how it is is brilliant. it's a huge cavern of darkness waiting for you to enter. walking in you can hardly see a thing. people walk nervously and slowly in some with hands outstretched. in the darkness you turn around and can see the light in the entrance and the shadows of others fumbling their way forward. this sense of not knowing what's ahead of being in the dark is surprisingly powerful. it conjured up several thoughts for me about life's direction and faith and the way forward which can so often feel like this. this is what some of the blurb on the wall says about it…
How shall i move forward? you might ask yourself as you stand on the threshold confronted by the darkness ahead. The unknown can be terrifying especially if it's also without light… Staring into the black may make you wonder whether to proceed at all.
once you have rested in the darkness a while it turns out to be more peaceful than it seemed when on its threshold. your eyes gradually adjust and what seemed invisible and hidden is easier to make out. it reminded me of the contemplative notions of the hidden darkness of god…
it's difficult to know how to photograph darkness! this photo is my favourite attempt as it's hard to make out if anything is there. but i took a couple of shadows of people in the entrance and one of the whole thing. and then a friend asked me to take a video or two of people entering the darkness which are on vimeo 1 | 2 | 3
I often wish that my first instinct in the dark wasn’t to be afraid. I’d like to experience it as peaceful too. Sounds like a great experience, thanks for sharing it.
Hi Jonny,
Love this post, it got me thinking about a conversation I had yesterday. Currently with my walk with God I am pressing forward towards something I can’t fully see but somehow I know that I have to keep walking forward. There are a multitude of motivations for my present place on the journey, frustration, hope, pain, joy and the desire for freedom. During this conversation this good friend of mine has said they had a gut feeling that my current path is risky, my simple response was yes, you are right. Consequently our friendship is suffering tensions but we are still managing to walk together.
The thing that inspired me about your blog and this installation is the fact you stand on the edge and peer in with fear, dread, anxiety, or you can step forward with courage, hope, faith and humility and then realise that it’s not so scary after all. That to me that is faith in action, steeping towards things that are not yet seen. Standing at the edge is safe, but actually stepping into the unknown is somehow…safer?