Work No. 227: The lights going on and off

This installation is widely considered to be the signature work of one of the best known artists of his generation. It was first shown at Tate when the artist won the Turner Prize in 2001, generating significant press coverage at the time and going on to form an important part of the history of the Turner Prize. The work consists of an empty room which is filled with light for five seconds and then plunged into darkness for five seconds. This pattern is repeated ad infinitum. With this work, Creed celebrates the mechanics of the everyday, and in exploiting the existing light fittings of the gallery space he creates a new and unexpected effect. An empty room with lighting that seems to be misbehaving itself confounds the viewerÂ’s normal expectations.