Man injured in London art exhibit

October 15, 2009 05:47:38 PM

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A pitch-black art installation in London claimed its first victim on the opening day as a man walked straight into a wall, a report said Wednesday.

"How It Is", by Polish artist Miroslaw Balka, opened to the public Tuesday in the huge Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern gallery.

More than 12,500 people visited, with one person attended to by first aid staff, Tate said when asked about the incident.

London's Evening Standard newspaper said the man hit the back wall and was escorted away with blood on his suit and a lump on his nose before being treated by first aid staff.

The installation is a steel box, resembling a giant shipping container. Accessed by a ramp, it measures 30 metres long, 13 metres high and 10 metres wide.

The work is lined with light-absorbing material, meaning visitors can see nothing but blackness when inside.

A spokeswoman for the Tate galleries told AFP that more than 12,500 people visited the new installation on its opening day Tuesday.

"There has been one incident in the installation and the visitor was attended to immediately by staff trained in first aid," she said.

"Tate takes issues of health and safety very seriously."

The Tate Modern gallery, founded in 2000 in a disused power station on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Saint Paul's Cathedral, attracts several million visitors per year and is one of Britain's most popular tourist attractions.

"How It Is" runs until April 5.

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