Elderly Italian man falls into 8ft black hole in British sculptor Anish Kapoor’s ‘bottomless’ art installation in Portugal
- An Italian man was injured after falling into a hole at the Serralves museum
- The 8ft deep hole is part of an Anish Kapoor work called Descent into Limbo
- The visitor, aged in his 60s, was taken to hospital but has since been discharged
A visitor to an Anish Kapoor exhibition in Portugal was hospitalised after falling into one of the British artist’s installations.
The visitor, an Italian man in his 60s, was injured after toppling into an 8ft (2.5m) deep hole at the Serralves museum in Porto, Publico reports.
He was taken to hospital with back injuries, but has since been discharged.
A visitor to an Anish Kapoor exhibition in Portugal was hospitalised after falling into one of the British artist’s installations. Pictured, Kapoor and curator Suzanne Cotter stand next to Descent into Limbo at the Serralves museum in Porto
The installation in question is Descent into Limbo – a seemingly bottomless hole in the centre of the floor in a large cube with a single door.
The hole is actually only about 8ft deep, but the sides have been painted with a dark black paint to give it the illusion of being a bottomless abyss.
-
‘My intention was only to show where my inspiration came…
Has the lost city of Etzanoa been found? Claims 17th century…
Share this article
Since there are no ropes or barriers around the work, visitors are made to sign a waiver acknowledging the safety risk, a museum spokesman said.
There were also warning signs and a gallery assistant in the room, the spokesman told The Times.
Visitors are seen outside the cube structure of Descent into Limbo during the presentation to the press of ‘Anish Kapoor: Works, Thoughts, Experiments’ exhibition in Serralves Museum
The installation has been closed since the incident to improve security, but should reopen in a few days.
Repairs will also be made to the work after it sustained a ‘little bit’ of damage when the man fell into it.
Kapoor (pictured) has been informed of the incident, but is not believed to be in Portugal
Kapoor has been informed of the incident, but is not believed to be in Portugal, the spokesman added.
The work, originally created in 1992, is part of Kapoor’s first major show in Portugal.
Previous visitors to Kapoor’s exhibitions have questioned whether Descent into Limbo featured an actual hole or whether it was just a circle painted with black paint.
The sculptor, whose works include Chicago’s bean-like Cloud Gate and the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford London, sparked controversy two years ago when he bought the exclusive rights to use Vantablack.
Vantablack – the darkest pigment ever created – is able to absorb 99.6 per cent of the light that hits it.
Anish Kapoor: Works, Thoughts and Experiments is on at the Serralves museum until January.
Source: Read Full Article