Silly, serious and a sensory delight. Work from the artist who won the Turner Prize turning the lights off and on.
If you’re suffering from the January blues, hurry to the Southbank Centre where Martin Creed’s exhibition is bound to make you smile. The man best known for winning the Turner Prize in 2001 by switching the lights on and off at Tate Britain has filled both floors of the Hayward Gallery with things that not only lift the spirits but reveal how to make magic from virtually nothing.
Nor is this an example of art lite; we tend to think of humour as an easy option, but sustaining a joke over five galleries and three terraces is a serious challenge. One false move and the whole thing falls apart; but Creed’s sense of time and space are impeccable. The installation is perfectly poised to keep you engaged, surprised, amused and possibly outraged at every turn.
Art that is beautiful, sensuous, silly and also deeply serious. What more could you want? I stayed for hours and laughed all the way round.