An installation that requires a 3 hour queue must be worth it. Surely? Surely. And so, yesterday afternoon, Em and I settled down on the Barbican's floor to wait our turn into The Rain Room.
An installation by contemporary art group Random International, the Rain Room is quite something. True to it's title it is, essentially, a room full of rain... but controlled by you. Entering the 100 square metre area, the rain magically stops falling wherever you step - just don't walk too fast or wear dark clothing.
With a focus on behaviour and interaction, the Random International collective have certainly captured our attention and for good reason. The sensation as you walk through is truly weird - surrounded by pouring water, the sound of the splashing droplets reverberating around the room, you stay (nearly) completely dry.
Our initial trepidation quickly forgotten, we were soon prancing around, punished once in a while with a light spray for too quick a step (or too wild a jump). Lit by just one harsh spotlight from the corner of the room, it was hard to make much out through the deluge and despite there being up to 10 other people in the installation at one time, you felt quite isolated in your own little bubble.
Open until 3rd March, it is definitely worth a visit. But if you just can't face the queue, whack your earphones in and watch this - then go and queue.
An installation by contemporary art group Random International, the Rain Room is quite something. True to it's title it is, essentially, a room full of rain... but controlled by you. Entering the 100 square metre area, the rain magically stops falling wherever you step - just don't walk too fast or wear dark clothing.
With a focus on behaviour and interaction, the Random International collective have certainly captured our attention and for good reason. The sensation as you walk through is truly weird - surrounded by pouring water, the sound of the splashing droplets reverberating around the room, you stay (nearly) completely dry.
Our initial trepidation quickly forgotten, we were soon prancing around, punished once in a while with a light spray for too quick a step (or too wild a jump). Lit by just one harsh spotlight from the corner of the room, it was hard to make much out through the deluge and despite there being up to 10 other people in the installation at one time, you felt quite isolated in your own little bubble.
Open until 3rd March, it is definitely worth a visit. But if you just can't face the queue, whack your earphones in and watch this - then go and queue.
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