If you haven’t had a chance to see Cerith Wyn Evans installation Forms in Space … By Light (in Time),then make sure that you visit Tate Britain before 20 August. It truly is a beautiful work, made from 2km of neon lighting.
With straight lines, spiralling forms, sweeping curves, the visitor is taken on a journey in which the installation seems to explode like dancers on a stage. To experience it is to enter into an energetic world of light and form that seems initially haphazard but has meaning, and shape, as it continually reforms as you move through the space.
However, have you thought about the challenge of building perhaps one of the most complicated and intricate installations in most recent years at Tate Britain? As Tate Britain’s trusted contractor, and having built previous commissions for the Duveen Galleries, we were happy to accept the task of creating Cerith Wyn Evans installation just how he envisaged it. Created over 3 galleries with utmost precision this was quite a daunting project due to the fragility of the neon tubing and the complexity of the design.
The entire project took 8 weeks to build. It involved hydraulic scaffolding, lasers, colour-coded mapping, skill, patience, and so much more. Each section had to be hung at the right height and angle whilst ensuring that its position was correct in relation to the overall installation. Cerith Wyn Evans had carefully considered the light at the Duveen Galleries and so it was critical that we followed precisely his instructions so that the play between the neon light, natural light, and shadows worked how it was meant to.
As experienced gallery exhibition builders we are fortunate to have the correct equipment, team, and skills to undertake such a project. On completing the build we were caught up in its brilliance and when we looked at the installation as a whole we were taken aback by its beauty and energy. Cerith Wyn Evans is quite simply an outstanding artist to have created something as stunning as Forms in Space … By Light (in Time) and we are privileged to have been asked to help play a facilitative role.
Installation of Cerith Wyn Evans ‘Forms in Space…By Light (in Time)
The Tate Britain required competent and skilled contractors to work alongside Tate Britain’s art handlers to install Cerith Wyn Evans installation: Forms in Space … By Light (in Time). The challenge was to create precisely Cerith Wyn Evan’s 2km neon lighting artwork without drilling holes in the ceiling of the Grade II listed building.
Requirements:
- Exhibition works
- Installation of fixings/supplies
- Close coordination with Tate Britain’s art handler team
The Tate Britain required competent and skilled contractors to work alongside Tate Britain’s art handlers to install Cerith Wyn Evans installation: Forms in Space … By Light (in Time). The challenge was to create precisely Cerith Wyn Evan’s 2km neon lighting artwork without drilling holes in the ceiling of the Grade II listed building.
The project included the additional challenge of working with highly fragile neon tubing, with no room for margin or error.
What did we do?
Given their long-term relationship with the Tate Britain, and experience of working in the Duveen Galleries, we worked skilfully with the art handler team to ensure that the installation was erected in time. The art handling team unpacked the lights and sorted them into groups so that each section could be carefully fixed in place. Using hydraulic scaffolding, lasers, and colour-coded mapping each section had to be hung at the right height and angle whilst ensuring that its position was correct in relation to the overall installation.
Throughout the project, we completed the following:
- Fixing of 1,500 perspex discs created by the Welsh artist’s Austrian fabricators, Neonline,
- Fixing of all wires,
- Co-ordination of all works with art handlers,
- Installed the lights piece by piece,
- Removal of fixings and silicone
- Decoration of South and North Duveens gallery
- Restoration of galleries to original state.
Results
The Tate Britain benefitted from a completed installation that met the artist’s vision.