Some years the annualcommission in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall is a must-see. This is not one of those years.
White and off-white fabric hangs from a circular frame at both ends of the hall, some draped, some knotted and some resembling net curtains that have had a tough time in the washing machine. They hang down to a point just above your head, or in a few cases almost to the floor, where tiny wooden benches are provided for longer contemplation. Look closely and there are pottery fragments and other mudlarked detritus amidst the tumbling strands, but I completely missed those on a first look. In the background is a ghostly soundtrack, possibly wildlife related but generally too quiet to tell. And that's all it does, it just hangs there, and it'll be hanging there until the week after Easter.
This is Brain Forest Quipu by the Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña. A quipu is a string of knotted cords used by Andean civilisations to record meaning - a clever way to pass on information in a time before the written word was commonplace. Cecilia describes the quipu as "a poem in space, a way to remember, a tactile spatial metaphor for the union of all." Her artwork, it turns out, is "an act of mourning for the destruction of forests, the subsequent impact on climate change and the violence against Indigenous people" which is absolutely fair enough, but you get none of this from looking at the work, only from reading the associated text.
Officially the artwork launches today, but it was already be situ when I passed through yesterday so it is possible I didn't see the intended final experience. The frames might rotate (but it didn't look like they could) or they might be lit by coloured lamps (but I didn't see any) or they might jiggle up and down (but I doubt they will), so static dangling looks to be the order of the day. Apparently there'll also be video screens showing images of activists and rainforest protectors, which might help make more sense of the overall theme, but these 'digital quipus' weren't in place when I visited.
It's dangerous to form judgements on a piece before it's officially open, but Brain Forest Quipu looks to be merely interesting rather than unforgettable. Get knotted from 10am today.
