Tino Sehgal

The new Tino show opened at ICA on Friday. I went round it. Or rather, I was taken through it. Or rather, I was it, for a short while. Or rather, I was part of it, for a while...heck, who knows?
'This Progress', as it is called, takes you on an accompanied journey round the lower and upper galleries, through the bar, up to the Nash and Brandon rooms and down the back stairs and then back out into the foyer. All the while having a continual conversation with one of the four 'interpreters' (who get successively older - starting with a small boy and ending, for me, with John, I think he was called, who was 81).
Having seen Tino and the interpreters rehearsing this over the last week, I had resolved not to go through until the first 'real' day. And even now, I'm not sure what I thought of it all. When I reached the foyer again, and was told this was the end, there seemed to be so many small emotions which had been touched on through the preceeding 5 minute or so journey (why did that girl run away from me on the stairs? Mummy! Mummy! Don't leave me here on my own!!!!) that I found myself in a gentle state of not entirely comfortable shock. Very strange. It was: controlling, exciting, frustrating, illuminating, refreshing, funny, surprising...all of those and more. Visually though, it's great: it takes you round the empty galleries, which look lovely with nothing in them. There are minor flaws, obviously, but this is a pretty good piece - and certainly I like this much more than last years show.
Everyone comes out with their own psychology delicately prodded. One guy was just standing in the shop after it going, 'that was amazing, I saw the stuff last year, but this was something else, sorry, sorry, I just needed to say something to someone...', someone else said it was like a therapy session (hell, maybe that was me...), and a lovely girl came out and said, 'hey, that was just so much fun!!'
So I obviously just need to lighten up...
Well worth a visit. Check it out.