On 26 November the Whitechapel Gallery unveils a new site-specific commission by French Algerian artist Kader Attia. The work revisits the biblical story of Jacob’s ladder with a towering floor to ceiling structure of rare artefacts and books that will fill the lofty spaces of the Gallery. Hidden inside this library is a cabinet of curiosities filled with items from old scientific measuring devices to books by authors such as the philosopher Descartes and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace. At the centre of the work, a beam of light shines up to a mirrored ceiling creating an infinity reflection in an evocation of the tale which describes prophet Jacob’s vision of angels ascending from earth to heaven.
