Tate Modern closes Sunflower Seeds Exhibit due to Occupational Asthma Fears
The Tate Modern gallery has had to stop visitors interacting with the new Sunflower Seeds exhibition due to fears that it could lead to occupational asthma claims in the future.
The installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei fills the floor of the Turbine Hall in the gallery with 100 million sunflower seeds. Each of the seeds is hand painted, and crucially made from porcelain.
The exhibition opened last week, with the idea that visitors could walk on, crunch, lie on, and indeed do almost anything they wish amongst the bed of porcelain seeds. However, this has been brought to an abrupt halt after staff reported that a fine dust was filling the air of the hall.
The process of visitors interacting with the seeds has brought about unexpected levels of porcelain dust. In a statement, the gallery admitted that the dust “could be damaging to health following repeated inhalation” and have subsequently stopped visitors walking on it.
Porcelain dust contains silica, which if inhaled over a prolonged period of time can instigate serious lung conditions such as asthma. Employees who have been exposed over a period of time by their employers may be able to make an occupational asthma compensation claim.
The Tate Modern has faced safety fears before, when last year a pensioner walked into a wall in a pitch black room which was part of an installation.
The Sunflower Seeds can still be viewed by a bridge in the Turbine Hall and will be on exhibition until May.
