Antony Gormley - Blind Light

Blind Light (2007) is a piece of conceptual art in which the visitors step into a glass box filled with dry ice. It is lit with a bright fluorescent light. When you step inside the piece, you cannot see, which can provoke panic and disorientation. As it is white, it could seem unnatural and imposing, as it is not subtle. there have been mixed opinions of the piece:

"I like the idea of an artist making a work that is not about seeing but about not seeing" -Richard Dormeat, Telegraph

"My immediate response was difficulty in drawing breath, swallowed by violent sneezing, then equally violent coughing" Brian Sewell, Arts critic

I personally think that the concept of this piece is unique and exciting. It's almost as if Gormley has brought a cloud down from the sky and managed to store it on Earth. I also think that it's interesting the way people who visit the piece become apart of it.

Although on first impressions this piece doesn't appear to be as explicitly figurative as his other pieces of work, according to Gormley it is, because it uses living figures. Once you are inside the cube, the people on the exterior can watch you, and so in a way the people on the inside provide a spectacle for the on-lookers,

As the exhibition is no longer at the Hayward Gallery, we replicated the experience by tying a white cloth around our eyes. We also spund round in order to further disorientate ourselves.

When I put the blindfold on I felt quite alone and helpless, and I had to rely on my other senses to guide me around the classroom. I had to take the blindfold off after a few minutes because I felt too disorientated!