A smelly show that reeks of pointlessness
AA Murakami: Silent Fall 6 Burlington Gardens, London W1 ★★★★★
Ialways make a detour to avoid the perfume counter on the way into department stores, finding that some scents repel me and cling, while others simply make me sneeze. So with some trepidation I entered a darkened room of mirrors for Silent Fall, round the back of the Royal Academy. One FAQ on the booking website is: “Where are the bathrooms located?”
A tiny grove of artificial trees in gloss grey, like a convention of Ents designed by the John Lewis lighting department, oozed foamfilled worzel-sized bubbles from nozzles at the ends of pendulous boughs. The 10 little trees had 48 nozzles. If you were a bit dim and hasty, you could walk into the mirror wall by mistake. It was quite nice to watch the bubbles form, like a drip on the kitchen tap, then fall slowly to the grille floor.
They let out smells such as pine, patchouli or oak moss. The worst were musky or mouldy. Pine was the least unpleasant, reminding me of my bathroom before I made the change to citrus.
After 10 minutes the room went black and then a single red light bathed the glade. Dawn. Exit.
Superblue are behind this installation by AA Murakami (the duo Azusa Murakami and Alexander Grover). It’s a successor to New Spring (2017), which had scented bubbles too. We’re talking seasons, though fall is also something that the original duo Adam and Eve did. The artists worry about the fragile state of our planet, natch.
Art is priceless, but here for Mum, Dad and two children it’s £47.48 for 12 minutes. For me there was more art and far more nature (sky, dicky birds, lichen) outside in Burlington Gardens.