Sinta Tantra

A Good Time and a Half!
July 2008

Sinta transformed the South Bank Centre’s Saison Poetry Library’s exhibition space, creating a terraced stage area swathed in colourful painted imagery.

The work paid homage to the performative aspects of poetry, with visitors invited to ascend the stage to enjoy a sweeping panorama of the South Bank Centre. The vista included exceptional views of the major outdoor installations in the Hayward Gallery’s Psycho Buildings exhibition.

By interacting with the work in this way, visitors become aware of their own physical presence and the part they are playing in the surrounding spectacle.

The bright, geometric motifs, including angular panes of colour and symbols, play on the seminal graphic designs made by Abram Games for the emblem of the Festival of Britain, 1951.

The event heralded the achievements and potential of Great Britain, and this outward, optimistic tone chimes closely with Tantra’s own practice, which examines the power and delight of surface images. The title of the work, “A Good Time and a Half!”, was a quote from one visitor to the Festival. It evokes an old-fashioned idea of fun that, in a society when other meanings of leisure and culture have taken hold, we find antiquated but also attractive – kitsch, honest, more care-free.

The artwork hosted several performances and workshops during the Poetry International Festival.

Gallery