BARBARA LONG
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
27.09.2025 – 18.01.2026
Gallery 01
“In my beginning is my end, in my end is my beginning.”
– T.S. Eliot, East Coker.
In her sprawling, interactive and immersive installation “Stairway to Heaven,” the Madrid-based artist Barbara Long (Newark-on-Trent, UK, 1960) explores the cycle of life, and the ups and downs of her own life, past, present, and future. With its 65 steps and over 20 meters in length, the installation re-presents the artist’s life to date, and the possibility of a future life up to 100 years. The installation is made entirely with recycled textiles and materials from the artist’s life and each step is upholstered with textiles (dyed red) relating to a year in her life.
With its flexible and organic structure, the installation is reminiscent of forest climbing plants, creating a protective refuge, and casting shadows on the surrounding walls. The public is invited to immerse themselves in the structure, and to touch it, with care.
