Descent into the Void

The Museum of Modern Art, Porto, Portugal.

Games with optical illusions and all kinds of space distortions are a specific feature of Anish Kapoor’s conceptual work. In Portugal, the artist organized an installation, which is a black hole in the floor, inside of which absolutely nothing can be seen. This hole resembles a bottomless abyss and a flat spot, completely devoid of colour and light. The effect of absolute blackness is achieved due to the use of a special material – Vantablack, which consists of an unusual kind of carbon that absorbs any visible light by almost one hundred percent. In fact, the installation is an eight-pound recess. Once an unlucky visitor fell into it – this is why now this installation has a small fence.