Last night I went to the opening of Neil Webb's (AKA Bocman) latest show at Bloc space, Sheffield: The Stars In Us All.
The work is inspired by astronaut Dave Bowman's last words before entering the black monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Oddyssey: "My God, it's full of stars". Webb has positioned three black monoliths around the studio, each highly polished and perfectly reflective. The monoliths, the room itself, and a bench in the room all act as loudspeakers, broadcasting a 45-minute sound piece. The only faint light in the gallery is provided by blue neon lights behind each monolilth.
The result is suitably awe-inspiring, frequently meditative and contemplative, and occasionally disturbing. As with previous works by Webb which I'm familiar with, there is a perfect relationship between the auditory and the visual, and every element seems perfectly judged to contribute to the overall experience.
The show is also reviewed in today's Guardian Guide .
