A glowing cosmic spectacle – Anthony McCall Solid Light Works review

Hepworth Wakefield
JMW Turner meets Isaac Newton and JG Ballard in this psychedelic show of smoke machines, light vortices and luminous mists that map roads into the unreal

In a darkened, cavernous space, projectors draw strong white lines on black walls. The animated sketches they beam out form squiggles that grow into ovals and circles then collapse and start again. Meanwhile, smoke machines pump out a fine mist that floats into the cones of light and fills out their geometries to create an effect the artist calls “solid light”.

So far, so interesting, but when you walk inside that solid-seeming light and turn your eyes back towards the projector, strange things start to happen. The circles, ovals and triangles of light beaming around you form corridors and gothic arches, spooky tunnels and apocalyptic vortices of silvery whiteness where clouds of smoke stream by in an ever-changing stormy spectacle. It is like being inside a painting by JMW Turner, enclosed in cascades of luminous mist, revealing endless vistas of skies and seas that melt and merge in a glowing cosmic spectacle. Step out of the beam, and it vanishes in an instant. Run your fingers through the light and you can draw with shadows, like putting your hand in a running stream to see the water dance.

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