Richard Wilson is infatuated with changing architectural space. He toys with physical boundaries, altering your perception, whether it’s a room or a whole building.
20:50 arrived 16 years ago at Matt’s Gallery and made its comeback in 2009 being re-installed at the Saatchi Gallery. Wilson is known to eschew popular object-based sculpture and opt for experimental installation: Turning the Place Over being a prime example – a daring architectural intervention based in Liverpool where he basically turns a building inside out.
In 20:50 Wilson sees the gallery as an empty void, waiting to be filled. The empty volume is consumed by recycled engine oil and a heady industrial whiff. A single walkway to waist height leads from a single entrance, oil swims around you from every direction. It is so highly reflective that the surface perfectly mirrors everything within its surroundings; placing you directly within a symmetrical visual plane.
