The Upper Room
London, UK (2002)
Rather than designing a space in which to view art, David Adjaye’s work on the project was a wholly assimilated collaboration – so that art and architecture combined to become more than the sum of its parts.
The Upper Room is a room-size installation which was created in collaboration with artist Chris Ofili at the Victoria Miro Gallery in East London and now re-created in the permanent exhibition at Tate Britain. Ofili’s work consists of 12 paintings of rhesus macaque monkeys, six to a wall, in a long, low-lit, chapel-like space. The room is approached along a narrow darkened corridor, dramatically lit by blocks of light at floor level. As visitors turn into the space, they are confronted with a long room with walls, ceiling and floor, all of walnut veneer. The paintings glow in the semi-darkness. Rather than designing a space in which to view art, David Adjaye’s work on the project was a wholly assimilated collaboration – so that art and architecture combined to become more than the sum of its parts. The result is an experiential environment, which draws visitors inside and offers a fourth, sensual, even spiritual, dimension to the work.
