Coral Reef

"He wants you to feel lost in a world of lost people" - Coral Reef by Mike Nelson

(Before I start, I feel like I've lost all sense of writing so forgive me if I don't do this justice. Neither do the pictures.. Why are you reading this anyhoo?)

Late last year, I had the great privilege of exploring Tate Gallery's (only) interesting exhibition with a very good friend, CHELSEA space mate Maya Ramsay, who also happens to be a very talented artist and winner of the Florence Trust Residency. Not only is she very talented, she handles the most fascinating projects, including renovating once deserted buildings without changing their aesthetics completely, whilst maintaining the beautiful elements of destruction (apologize for the very pathetic explanation of her work: better yet, let her explain it and show it to you here.)

This bunch of empty rooms with leftover furniture maze installation by Mike Nelson, first conceived and presented in 2000: imagine entering a maze that starts and ends with an identical room, in this case a deserted Islamic Center - kind of like a horror / psycho thriller.

The details in this place are perfected and well-concocted to the core. Each smell (from dust to garbage, to wood, to this desert feeling), texture, colours, piece of dust / trash is orchestrated to the TEE. You can FEEL the sense of emptiness, creepiness, melancholy and somewhat irrational fear.

The details, smells, props in each room of the maze are creepy yet magical. Like a scene or shot from a 90's Quentin Tarantino movie.

Difficult to escape from, multiple doors, all leading to different walkways, different rooms, sometimes identical, sometimes not.

P.S. To some, this is just trash in a few rooms. To me, they are gems.