Stepping into “Bass” by Steve McQueen at the Schaulager Basel is like entering a space where sound and light become living, shaped atmospheres. On view until November 16, 2025, this immersive installation, first shown in 2024 at Dia Beacon in New York, is co-commissioned by the Laurenz Foundation, Schaulager Basel, and the Dia Art Foundation.
McQueen’s “Bass” is perhaps his most abstract work to date. It doesn’t present narrative or figurative imagery, but rather envelopes the visitor in coloured LED light boxes suspended from the ceiling, shifting through hues, paired with deep, resonant bass sound. It’s an experience designed less for viewing than for feeling. The artist himself describes light and sound as being born of “movement and fluidity,” able to slip into “any nook and cranny,” starting from something that isn’t yet a form but is all-encompassing.
What makes “Bass” especially potent at the Schaulager is how McQueen has adapted it to the architecture there. The spaciousness, height, light wells, acoustics all these physical traits of the building interact with the installation. The interplay of towering space and enveloping light, the way low frequencies vibrate through concrete, these give new weight to one’s awareness of space and time.
There’s also something symbolic in the title Bass. The lowest register in much of contemporary Black music, bass carries both a physical vibration and a cultural weight, it underlies many musical and emotional structures. In “Bass”, McQueen doesn’t just use low sound for effect: the sonic backbone becomes a medium for reflection, letting visitors inhabit the rumbling thresholds between visibility and invisibility, form and formlessness.
For anyone curious about what it means to see with ears, hear with eyes, or feel beyond the usual senses, “Bass” is not to be missed. Whether you’re a fan of McQueen’s film or video work, or simply interested in what happens when art breaks down the borders between media, this show offers a rare, resonant encounter. Schaulager’s generous timings and the sensitivity of its design make it a perfect home for such an endeavor.
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