Mike Nelson's Coral Reef

A room from Coral Reef

Mike Nelson is a British artist who mostly makes installations. While in London I came across Coral Reef, a redux of an installation he first did in 1999, in the Tate Britain. It is hard to describe how his work effects you, but it certainly leaves a lasting impression. The first time I went through it I had a hard time figuring out what was going on -- there was a small room with a couch and a door which led me to believe I had accidentally stumbled into a backroom of the museum. Upon further exploration I realized what I was in -- a labyrinth of rooms representational of capitalism (according to Nelson in this video) and how it relates to the Middle East and other places in general.

Since it is hard to encapsulate a dozen or more intricately constructed rooms in my own words I will invoke the Tate's description:

It's a claustrophobic construction of rooms and narrow corridors, each with a hint of life but decaying in front of your eyes. The sprawling work was first shown in 2001 at Matt's Gallery in London, and is now part of Tate's collection. In this interview the artist explains the ideas and ideologies behind the work, and tells us why he wants the spectator to feel 'lost in a world of lost people'.

While experiencing Tunnel of Oppression today I was reminded of Coral Reef because they both explore ways of living different from our own. They are both a kind of journey you take that force you to look outside your own life and see other ways of life. They both educate and disturb you. It reminds us of the ideologies that don't just govern our own lives but everyone's.