southbank centre announces one of the most ambitious and ...

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SOUTHBANK  CENTRE  ANNOUNCES  ONE  OF  THE  MOST  AMBITIOUS  AND   EXPERIMENTAL  EXHIBITIONS  TO  DATE  AT  HAYWARD  GALLERY  –  A  MAJOR     SURVEY  OF  CARSTEN  HÖLLER       Carsten  Höller:  Decision   Hayward  Gallery   Southbank  Centre   10  June  –  6  September  2015   (Press  View:  Tuesday  9  June  2015,  10am  –  1pm)   • • • •

  Especially-­‐commissioned  slides  that  will  allow  courageous  visitors  to  travel  from  the  Hayward  Gallery’s   iconic  glass  pyramid  ceiling  to  Gallery  entrance  level     Moving  Beds  (2015),  a  new  work  comprised  of  two  robotic  beds  which  will  mirror  each  other's   movements  as  they  roam  the  galleries   A  wide  range  of  new  and  ambitious  works  including  a  large  installation  with  Höller’s  signature  Fly   Agaric  mushrooms   Two  Flying  Machines  that  will  allow  visitors  to  ‘lift  off’  over  the  Hayward  Gallery’s  iconic  sculpture   terraces  and  ‘fly’  above  Waterloo  Bridge     One  of  the  highlights  of  Southbank  Centre’s  Summer  programme    

•   This  major  exhibition  at  the  Hayward  Gallery  will  present  a  wide  range  of  Höller’s  works  from  newly-­‐made  pieces   that  have  been  especially  commissioned,  to  key  early  artworks  like  The  Pinocchio  Effect    (1994)  and  Upside   Down  Goggles  (1994-­‐ongoing).  It  will  bring  together  sculptures,  videos,  installations  and  light  works  that  are   designed  to  profoundly  re-­‐orientate  our  awareness  of  time  and  space.       Decision  will  immerse  its  visitors  in  a  series  of  experimental  environments,  reflecting  Höller’s  wide-­‐ranging   interest  in  the  nature  of  consciousness.    Many  of  the  works  in  the  exhibition  aim  to  transform  the  visitors’   physical  and  mental  experience  in  ways  that  lead  them  to  question  their  habitual  perceptions.    Often   participatory  or  immersive,  these  works  highlight  an  individual  response;  as  Höller  himself  has  remarked:  “the   real  material  I  am  working  with  is  people’s  experience.”           As  indicated  by  its  title,  decision-­‐making  will  be  a  focus  of  the  exhibition.  Visitors  to  the  Hayward  Gallery  show   will  constantly  need  to  reflect  on  the  choices  and  decisions  they  make,  beginning  with  how  they  enter  the   gallery:  two  separate  entrances  will  be  available,  each  providing  a  different  route  through  the  first  part  of  the   exhibition.  Pill  Clock  (2011-­‐15),  a  ceiling-­‐mounted  timepiece  that  will  drop  over  one  million  pills  onto  the  gallery   floor  during  the  course  of  the  exhibition,  poses  a  different  kind  of  conundrum  for  visitors:  the  installation   includes  a  drinking  fountain  for  those  visitors  who  decide  to  take  one  of  the  pills  and  face  its  unknown  effects.     Other  highlights  of  the  show  include  Flying  Mushrooms  (2015),  a  new  large-­‐scale  work  of  an  upside-­‐down   mobile  with  giant  psychedelic  mushrooms;  Moving  Beds  (2015),  a  pair  of  robotic  beds  that  restlessly  roam  the  

galleries  like  ‘insomniac  twins’;  Flying  Machines  (2008/2015)  installed  on  one  of  the  Hayward’s  outdoor  terraces,   opposite  Waterloo  Bridge,  offering  visitors  the  sensation  of  soaring  above  city  traffic;  whilst  The  Pinocchio  Effect   (1994)  will,  through  an  ingenious  use  of  a  simple  technology,  give  visitors  the  uncanny  sensation  that  their  nose   is  growing.  Throughout  the  exhibition,  recurring  motifs  of  doubles,  twins,  forking  paths  and  mirrored  reflections   will  lead  visitors  to  question  how  they  go  about  choosing  between  things  that  on  the  surface,  at  least,  seem   almost  identical.         The  exhibition  will  climax  by  confronting  visitors  with  a  final  choice  between  several  dramatic  ways  to  exit   Hayward  Gallery,  including  climbing  up  through  the  Gallery’s  glass  pyramid  roof  lights  and  descending  via   Höller’s  new  Isomeric  Slides  (2015).  Built  onto  the  gallery’s  exterior  wall,  these  sinuous  slides  will  constitute  a   graceful  sculptural  installation  whilst  at  the  same  time,  as  the  artist  notes,  the  work  will  be  a  device  for   ‘experiencing  an  emotional  state  that  is  a  unique  condition  somewhere  between  delight  and  madness.’     Ralph  Rugoff,  Director  of  the  Hayward  Gallery  and  exhibition  curator,  says:    “Carsten  Höller  is  truly  one  of  the   world’s  most  thought-­‐provoking  and  profoundly  playful  artists,  with  a  sharp  and  mischievous  intelligence  bent  on   turning  our  ‘normal’  view  of  things  upside-­‐down.  Decision  will  ask  visitors  to  make  choices,  but  also,  more   importantly,  to  embrace  a  kind  of  double  vision  that  takes  in  competing  points  of  view,  and  embodies  what   Höller  calls  a  state  of  ‘active  uncertainty’  –  a  frame  of  mind  conducive  to  entertaining  new  possibilities.”     Jude  Kelly,  Artistic  Director,  Southbank  Centre,  said:  “Höller  is  an  exceptional  artist,  whose  playful  and  daring   work  will  transform  the  inside  and  outside  of  the  Hayward  Gallery.  He  creates  spaces  and  situations  which   question  familiar  forms  of  perception  and  we're  delighted  that  thousands  of  people  will  be  able  to  experience  his   fun-­‐filled  and  thoughtful  installations,  as  one  of  the  highlights  of  our  programme  this  summer."     The  exhibition  is  curated  by  Hayward  Gallery  Director  Ralph  Rugoff;  and  it  is  one  of  the  main  highlights  of   Southbank  Centre’s  Summer  programme.    Carsten  Höller:  Decision  will  be  the  last  exhibition  in  the  Hayward   Gallery  before  the  Gallery  closes  (with  the  Queen  Elizabeth  Hall)  for  essential  repair  and  maintenance.     Exhibition  Catalogue     Carsten  Höller:  Decision  will  be  accompanied  by  two  catalogues;  the  first  is  a  compilation  of  commissioned  short   stories  on  decision-­‐making,  and  features  some  of  today’s  leading  young  fiction  writers  Naomi  Aldermen,  Jenni   Fagan,  Deborah  Levy,  Hamilton  Morris,  Helen  Oyeyemi  and  Ali  Smith.    The  second  catalogue  will  incorporate  a   photographic  record  of  the  exhibition  taken  by  two  separate  photographers  and  will  also  feature  an  extensive   interview  with  the  artist  by  Ralph  Rugoff.       For  press  information  contact:   Helena  Zedig,  Deputy  Head  of  Press:  [email protected]  on  020  7921  0847  or  07803  596587   Or  Filipa  Mendes,  Press  Officer:  [email protected]  on  020  7921  0672  or  07531643279     Notes  to  editors:       Listings  details:   Carsten  Höller:  Decision   Hayward  Gallery,  10  June  –  6  September  2015   Visitor  information  and  tickets:  www.southbankcentre.co.uk   Southbank  Centre,  Belvedere  Road,  London,  SE1  8XX     Prices  (inc.  Gift  Aid)   Supporter  Standard             £15.00                                                                

Supporter  Seniors  60+             Supporter  Students/universal  credit/pension  credit     Supporter  Young  People  12  –  18           Under  12s               Southbank  Centre  Members:           Supporter  Circles               Opening  times:   Monday  12  noon  –  6pm   Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Saturday  and  Sunday  11am  –  7pm   Thursday  and  Friday  11am  –  8pm     About  Carsten  Höller:  

£13.00   £11.00   10.00   Free   Free   Free  

Trained  as  an  agricultural  scientist,  Carsten  Höller  has  been  making  art  and  showing  internationally  since  the   early  1990s.  Over  the  past  two  decades  his  work  has  been  the  subject  of  numerous  exhibitions,  including  solo   shows  at  Fondazione  Prada,  Milan  (2000),  the  ICA  Boston  (2003),  Kunsthaus  Bregenz,  Austria  (2008),  Museum   Boijmans  Van  Beuningen,  Rotterdam  (2010),  Hamburger  Bahnhof  Museum  für  Gegenwart,  Berlin  (2011),  New   Museum,  New  York  (2011)  and  Thyssen  Bornemisza  Art  Contemporary–Augarten,  Vienna,  Austria  (2014).  In   2005,  he  represented  Sweden  at  the  51st  Biennale  di  Venezia  (with  Miriam  Bäckström).  In  2006,  he  presented   his  slide  installation  Test  Site  at  the  Tate  Modern,  and  in  November  2008,  his  Double  Club  installation  –  an  art   work  that  was  simultaneously  a  bar,  restaurant  and  dance  club  –  opened  for  seven  months  in  London.  In  2014,   Vitra  Slide  Tower,  Höller’s  first  freestanding  slide,  was  inaugurated  at  the  Vitra  Campus  in  Weil  am  Rhein,   Germany.     Hayward  Gallery:   Hayward  Gallery  has  a  long  history  of  presenting  work  by  the  world's  most  adventurous  and  innovative  artists.   Opened  by  Her  Majesty,  The  Queen  in  1968,  the  gallery  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  buildings  of  its  style.  It  was   designed  by  a  group  of  young  architects,  including  Dennis  Crompton,  Warren  Chalk  and  Ron  Herron.  Hayward   Gallery  is  named  after  the  late  Sir  Isaac  Hayward,  the  former  leader  of  the  London  County  Council.   Hayward  Gallery  has  gained  an  international  reputation  for  staging  major  solo  shows  by  both  emerging  and   established  artists  and  dynamic  group  exhibitions  in  its  46  year  history.  Key  exhibitions  throughout  Hayward   Gallery’s  history  have  included  those  by  Martin  Creed,  Antony  Gormley,  Tracey  Emin,  Andy  Warhol,  Ed  Ruscha,   Jeremy  Deller,  Anish  Kapoor,  Rene  Magritte,  Frances  Bacon  and  David  Shrigley,  as  well  as  influential  group   exhibitions  such  as  Africa  Remix,  Light  Show,  The  Human  Factor  and  Psycho  Buildings.   Southbank  Centre:   Southbank  Centre  is  the  UK’s  largest  arts  centre,  comprising  three  iconic  buildings  (Royal  Festival  Hall,  Queen   Elizabeth  Hall  and  Hayward  Gallery)  and  occupying  a  21-­‐acre  site  that  sits  in  the  midst  of  London’s  most  vibrant   cultural  quarter  on  the  South  Bank  of  the  Thames.  The  site  has  an  extraordinary  creative  and  architectural   history  stretching  back  to  the  1951  Festival  of  Britain.   Building  on  this  rich  heritage,  Southbank  Centre  offers  an  extensive  artistic  and  cultural  programme  including   annual  and  one-­‐off  themed  festivals  and  classical  and  contemporary  music,  performance,  dance,  visual  art  and         literature  and  spoken  word  events  throughout  the  year.  www.southbankcentre.co.uk   Like  Hayward  Gallery  on  facebook.com/haywardgallery   Follow  @southbankcentre  and  @haywardgallery  

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