Mike Nelson Taylor, 1994
Mike Nelson Taylor, 1994
Mike Nelson is primarily known for his large-scale, labyrinthine installations, where numerous discarded objects are carefully assembled to create new narratives. Taylor is unusual in that it is sculptural in form, however, like his other works it contains filmic and socio-political references. Its title refers both to the eighteenth-century warehouse in Liverpool, where it was first exhibited and tailored to fit the space, as well as to George Taylor, the character of a marooned astronaut played by Charleston Heston in the film Planet of the Apes who tried in vain to escape on a raft. In this way, it suggests a journey to an
Exhibition specifications
alien world - a space traveller or refugee setting sail for a
• This work is metal, canvas, wood and
possible utopia.
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Liverpool’s history reveals that warehouses, such as the
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mixed media, It measures 250 x 336 x 456 cm This work requires an ACC technical courier to install plus technical support at the venue. Constant invigilation is required. The work comes in sections and is assembled on site so it is not essential to have a particularly large lift or wide entrance to the gallery. It is no longer necessary for the raft to be installed attached to a pillar.
There is no hire fee for this project. As well as installation and deinstallation costs, we ask venues to cover insurance and transport costs.
one which originally housed Taylor, were once at the centre of the British slave trade. The reference to this history was given particular political significance as the plight of the dispossessed refugees from Cuba and Haiti fleeing to the United States dominated the media when the work was created and first exhibited. It is as if Taylor fuses together the contemporary politics of the West Indies, the history of Liverpool and narratives of science fiction to make a prop for a film that never existed.
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