London Splat!

Pardon me Father for I have sinned. It's been years since my last Babybel. 

Anish Kapoor, born in Bombay, and now a British citizen, has stunned me with his art. The last time I saw his pieces, it was at the Mak in Vienna, a museum with such grandiose space that anything would have made an impression. 

The majority of the material he uses is made up of this red pigmented wax, which makes you want to grab it form the floor, peel it off, only to find a plumpy piece of yellow cheese inside. Unfortunately, the cheese part is fantasy and clearly a figment of my cheesy imagination, but the wax part is not. That is why his style triggers a range of crazy emotions. From fun and serious, to condemning and childish, you will feel something so intense just by being in the presence of this gargantuan blood-like material, and you will want to stand and stare for hours long. 

There is something about this Babybel-like material splattered on the wall (check out this video of "Shooting into The Corner") and glued to the bottom of our shoes, which really makes you stop and think. I had never witnessed art that used the space to such an advantage and really made my heart stop. His "Shooting into The Corner" piece is as startling as his other pieces if not more and also stays with you through its resonating sound effects. It is fun, phallic, and immensely majestic. Other pieces of his include the "Svayambh", which resonates as much as all of his other brilliant creations, in that it also, like its "Shooting into The Corner" counterpart, stands for creation and destruction all at once. "Svayambh" (2007) is a long track dotted with arcades and clotted with the sticky red goo again, evoking a long and narrow train track, and according to the Financial Times , representing the Auschwiz deportation trains, slavery, colonialism and other historical horrors. The red wax here, with its blood-like color, carries huge symbolism and historical baggage.

You can find Kapoor's collection now at the Royal Academy of Arts . It is worth the detour and I promise that you will enjoy this truly zesty experience by witnessing his gigantic and glorious talent.


‘Anish Kapoor’, Royal Academy, London until December 1