James Turrell has announced plans for a massive land art installation in the AlUla desert of Saudi Arabia. The project is part of the “Wadi AlFann Presents James Turrell” exhibition. It will establish a prelude to his commission for Wadi AlFann, also known as the “Valley of the Arts.”
The exhibition is hosted in AlJadidah Arts District and runs from January 16 to April 19.
Turrell’s latest venture will be constructed over the next four years. It will transform the natural landscape of AlUla into a space that stages optical and cosmic encounters. The installation will also function as a permanent museum showcasing Turrell’s works.
The installation will include vast pathways, tunnels, chambers, and staircases carved into the canyon floor. Visitors will navigate through these features, experiencing lightness and darkness. They will touch upon Turrell’s exploration of color, space, and perception.
Wadi AlFann’s Lead Curator, Iwona Blazwick, describes the outdoor subterranean oculi as ‘cosmic observatories.’ These dissolve horizons and challenge perceptions of celestial light. The circular spaces frame the shifting hues of the sky above. They lead into the Sun/Moon Chamber, where the earth and cosmos are connected via what Turrell calls a ‘lensless telescope.’
Above ground, the site features a planetary diagram etched into the earth.
It is surrounded by sandstone mountains and crowned by an obelisk marking the sun’s passage like a sundial. This monumental project builds upon Turrell’s lifelong work, such as his reshaping of the Roden Crater in Northern Arizona into a naked-eye observatory.
Turrell’s immersive AlUla desert vision
Michael Govan, the exhibition’s Guest Curator, highlights the cosmic observatories’ apertures in the ceiling. These allow visitors to measure the movement of the sky and earth over time with their eyes. As visitors traverse hundreds of meters of tunnels, they encounter celestial experiences.
These forge optical and physical connections with astronomical time. One key feature is the obelisk surrounded by a constellation map with LED lights. These highlight the stars’ and celestial bodies’ paths.
At the heart of the installation is a central plaza and Skyspaces that reveal phenomena rarely visible to the naked eye. Two underground chambers provide contrasting experiences of boundlessness. The Ganzfeld chamber immerses visitors in pure colored light that dissolves walls, creating a dimensionless void.
The Wedgework chamber uses precise planes of light to produce a dreamlike interplay of solidity and dissolution. Alongside the renders of his upcoming land art, the exhibition presents a survey of Turrell’s light works, both historic and contemporary. From his 1968 cross-corner projection work Alta, to the hypnotic color composition of Jubilee, Turrell’s art continues to explore the phenomena of light and perception.
James Turrell’s project for Wadi AlFann promises an immersive exploration of light and perception. It is destined to become a significant landmark in the art world.