Deichtorhallen Hamburg provide one of the largest exhibition spaces for contemporary art in Europe. On the occasion of the documenta 2012 visitors had the opportunity to see a temporary installation by the British artist Anthony Gormley. Gormley had developed the installation exclusively for this venue: the Northern Hall features an open steel structure, with a footprint of almost 2,500 m², and a height of up to 19 m.
Barefooted, visitors stepped on a slightly swaying platform suspended from the ceiling, from where they experienced an unusual dimension of perception: vibration, optical reflection, and sound transformed the senses of hearing, seeing, and feeling into a new experience. The primary structure consisted of steel girders supported by guying cables. The floor construction comprised a timber structure coated with polyurethane cast resin. The resulting appearance was a smooth, jet black, reflecting surface. On this wide, free floating platform, people needed to orientate to each other in order to regain their bearings. The temporary exhibition was shown from April to September 2012.
