Creativetime, the presenters of innovative art for the public realm, have done it again. Recent Turner prize winner
Mike Nelson's A Psychic Vacuum invites you into an abandoned building on the Lower East Side and transforms you into a world of paranormal possibilities. After signing a waiver (the building is city-owned and does not pass current regulation building codes) you enter a tiny door off Delancey Street into the old Essex Street Market "renovated" by Mike Nelson.
The show is a labyrinth of sorts. You feel like you may get lost or even trapped in one of the dark hallways, but you never are trapped. There is an unnerving feeling that you may be in a real life version of
Saw, the movie. The eerie and dilapidated interiors feel haunted. Doors open to more doors or small, dark rooms filled with strange paraphernalia, much of it debris from the original market's heyday. It feels like someone has just left the room and scattered things about: an old naval officer's hat, a dentist's chair, and old tattoo needle, dusty books. Some rooms are filled with a fluorescent light that buzzes slightly. In another room a straight jacket is crumpled on the floor as if it's insane inhabitant has just made a quick escape.
Other interiors feel like they haven't been touched since the 60s. Pictures of JFK and Jackie hang from the walls with a thick layer of dust next to an old rotary phone. Will someone call? The interactive nature of the show is highly appealing. Touch what you want--you are IN the art.
Read an interesting interview with the artist from the
NYTimes.
Mike Nelson:
A Psychic VacuumSept. 8- Oct. 28
The Old Essex Street Market
117 Delancey at Essex
Friday-Sunday, 12-6pm, Free
The DL: The show is open Fridays Saturdays and Sundays only. Like the best haunted houses (I know, I know, it's not a haunted house--it's an art show, but still) it is best to go alone and not crowded with a bunch of strangers to ruin the effect. This may be hard to do on a busy Saturday.
