Fact Gallery, Abandon Normal Devices Festival, Liverpool
29 September - 27 November 2011
Kurt Hentschägler's immersive installation 'ZEE' was described by one viewer as "a world as viewed by a dying robot clone from the inside of a Turner painting..."
I was certainly not disappointed. ZEE was a spectacular multisensory experience, that really did made me question how the things I was seeing were happening in my brain. To date, it's one of the most wholly consuming artworks I have had the pleasure of seeing, and I went in twice.
On arrival, participants had to sign an agreement, as the flashing lights and other conditions inside the installation may cause panic, seizures and other slightly unnerving symptoms. We heard stories from the invigilators of people fainting, or having to make an early escape. So after signing my life away on a slip of paper, they took us to the entrance and briefed us on what not to do. On the first occasion, I was in a group of about five, the thought of there being other people there was quite reassuring at first. Once inside, it dawned on me that it would make no difference.
