Steve McQueen: Bass

A deep dive into the video artist's latest installation fusing color, light and sound to upend our perception of space and time

The subject of this volume is the colossal traveling immersive installation conceived by British film director and video artist Steve McQueen (born 1969). Under his direction, the 30,000-square-foot ground-level gallery at Dia Beacon is transformed into an installation comprising 60 lightboxes, in concert with a sonic component performed by world-renowned bassists. The cocommission will be shown at Schaulager, Basel, in 2026.

The accompanying publication features an introduction by Dia curator Donna De Salvo, who embeds the work in the context of McQueen's oeuvre to date, along with five essays by leading experts in musicology, cultural studies and Black studies as well as a narrative reflection by an esteemed poet. An extensive series of plates reflects the reverberating character of the color, light and sound installation, with further illustrations documenting the planning and realization process of this site-specific project.