You’ll find Lightfield in the belly of London’s newest tourist attraction.
There’s no doubting the star of the show in Marble Arch this summer: a 25-metre tall mound that’s set to open later in July, and offer sweeping views over Hyde Park. But whilst Marble Arch Mound will dazzle you up high, there’s also a treat hidden in the bowels of the hill that’ll enchant you down on the ground. Sculptor Anthony James has created a mesmerising infinity room called Lightfield, which you’ll find in the visitor hall beneath the temporary hill.
2021 is proving something of a banner year for infinity rooms, given that Yayoi Kusama has brought a pair of them to Tate Modern. The one housed inside Marble Arch Mound uses James’ signature steel and glass cubes, along with mirrors and LED lights, to create the impression of infinity that so delight us. Twelve of his ‘Transmorphic Cubes’ will be used to create Lightfield, and they’ll invite us to stare deep into their depths to marvel at the patterns and colours found there. Though James has had a storied career, it’s the first time his artworks will be displayed in the form of an infinity room.
It’s not the first James has transformed part of central London; you may have seen his Constellations wrapped around the Flannels store on Oxford Street back in April. That display was organised to welcome shoppers back to London’s famous retail hub, and Lightfield will perform a similar function, in that it aims to get us appreciating London’s artistic and cultural power, particularly after a difficult year. Like the Mound, it’ll be in place until December, at which point both the hill and the infinity room will be dismantled and redistributed.
All in all, the work complements Marble Arch Mound nicely. Where you’ll find trees, shrubs, and greenery on the exterior – discovered via a winding walk up to the summit – you’ll find polished steel, mirrors, and LED lights below, a contrast of materials and styles that unites nature and art in one home. Nifty!