Roger Hiorns / Seizure

Walking around a council block in Elephant & Castle in your spare time doesn’t initially seem like a wise thing to do, but Seizure gives you a good excuse to do it anyway.

At first glance, I was a little surprised the Artangel commissioned installation earned a Turner prize nomination. However once I was enclosed in the environment I began to think twice, especially when I realised how strange it was to be totally at ease despite being stood in a flat with thousands of sharp blue crystals on the ceiling and walls.

“Crystallising the interior of one of the flats is an odd thing to do…” - Roger Hiorns

The most important thing I took away from Seizure is the idea that control is overrated, especially when it comes to being creative. Roger Hiorns took an abandoned flat in a soon-to-be demolished 1960s South London block, sealed it off and pumped in 70,000 litres of a highly saturated copper sulphate solution. He stood back for 2 weeks while the solution’s temperature dropped allowing crystallisation to occur, and then drained the liquid contents out. The result is a space like no other you’ve ever seen assuming you aren’t partial to a bit of crystallisation on the weekends.

What you need to know:

- London. Tube: Elephant and Castle. 151 – 189 Harper Road, SE1 6AE
- It’s free but finishes on October 18th 2009
- For more info go to www.artangel.org.uk