This half hour installation takes place in the house which Vincent Van Gough lived briefly when he was a young man in London. Now derelict and looking a bit rough round the edges, Saskia Olde Wolbers has created a journey of light and sound throughout the house and weaving a mixture of facts and fiction into a house with a story. There is a vague sense of tangible atmosphere about the place but as the story hops from one period and skips from one room to another, the interest and suspense soon fades away. It is not easy to find which room we are suppose to be in as occasionally there are soundtrack being played simultaneously in different rooms. Though there are light cues to direct but they are easy to miss on a bright sunny day. The hidden speakers are clever and the vibrations and rumbling for some of the sound is quite impressive. The idea of the piece is great but it feels like an opportunity missed in this underdeveloped installation.
Photograph by Marcus J Leith
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