I am not sure that it can be done, but I will attempt to describe the experience precipitated by Doug Wheeler’s installation SA MI 75 DZ NY 12 (2012). Through the use of something—fiberglass and lights—Doug has created nothing, or perhaps everything, as the exhibition is often referred to as the Infinity Room. There is nothing to touch, little to hear, no smells or tastes and, in the face of near-blinding whiteness or darkness, no sight.

It is astounding what complete absence does for one’s sense of presence. The viewer becomes painfully aware of others in the “room,” standing in a sort of Waiting for Godot formation and stuck in shared awe. The color and texture of clothing and skin overwhelms. The mind is taxed by stimulation. It searches for corners, sides, parameters and familiarities, and an end.

Somehow it is appropriate that the installation’s only true comparison can be found in nature. There are caverns accessible by tunnels at a steep incline that fall beyond the reach of natural light and ambient noise. I have been inside one of these. Once on the cave floor, my ears rung and my vision filled with colored shapes. As if a projector had turned on, images appeared against the black. I looked down and saw the color of my harness, which was red in reality but yellow in my mind. Sensory deprivation, many people will tell you, is hallucinogenic. There is no uncertainty, no void that the mind does not attempt to reconcile and fill.

SA MI 75 DZ NY 12 is going on Now-February 25 at David Zwirner Gallery. 525 West 19th Street, NYC.

Above image: DOUG WHEELER. SA MI 75 DZ NY 12 (1975/2012). Reinforced fiberglass, LED lights, high intensity fluorescent lights, UV fluorescent lights, quartz halogen lights, DMX control. Architecturally modified space, composed of two parts. 564 x 702 inches (total space). 1432.6 x 1783.1 cm. Photo by Tim Nighswander/IMAGING4ART, courtesy of David Zwirner, New York © 2012 Doug Wheeler.