Damien Roach, "When the sun goes down"
from October, 20 to November, 16 2008
Introduction
This new site-specific project by London-based artist Damien Roach utilizes lighting systems familiar from nightclubs and live music venues to create an immersive, experiential environment for Le Vestibule. Moving coloured lights, smoke and the archetypal mirror ball, are firmly established elements in what Roach calls 'the architecture of entertainment'. Virtually unchanged since the high point of 1970s disco clubs, these simple components are still widely employed today towards the enhancement of a mind-altering, hedonistic nightlife experience. For 'When the sun goes down', Roach has replicated such a light system inside the gallery, but with the removal of the heavy sound system and various intoxicants the lights are usually set to compliment. What remains is a stage that suggests an event conspicuous in its absence, with a focus shift from 'the main event' onto the activity of its usually secondary support structures.