Rasheed Araeen's 'Zero to Infinity' at Tate Modern

Rasheed Araeen's participatory sculpture 'Zero to Infinity' (1968) is on view at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall until August 28, 2023, as part of UNIQLO Tate Play. The installation consists of 400 colorful cubes that visitors are encouraged to rearrange, challenging the usual museum taboo against touching artworks. Araeen, a pioneer of minimalist sculpture in the UK, conceived the work as a democratic, egalitarian alternative to traditional composition. The piece evolved from an earlier 1968 work 'Char Yar' (Four Friends) with four cubes, and after 30 years of hibernation, was revived as 'Zero to Infinity' with 100 blue cubes, first exhibited in 2004 at 291 Gallery in Hackney and later outdoors at Spitalfields. Acquired by Tate Britain in 2007, a colorful version was shown at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Born in Pakistan in 1935, Araeen trained as an engineer but turned to sculpture after discovering Anthony Caro's metal collages. He founded the journal Third Text in 1987 to promote art from the Global South. A major retrospective at Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven in 2017 marked renewed interest in his work.