This is my day at the Millennium Dome. I am Matt, here I am

I am outsidelong.jpg

I am the first part of the Dome you see. I am a sail pointing to the heavens; I am the anchor to the sky tugging the Earth to keep it from falling. But I am foreshortened, by my great size, and perhaps not as big as you thought I would be.

I am outsidetall.jpg

White cup.
A bulging Earth?
Or a retreating sky?
Or a flat sheet, curved by our perception and need to enclose, divide, define?
Half Earth, half sky.
Half empty, half full.

I am quantum.jpg

I am Quantum Cloud. I am the fusion of art and science, a 27m sculpture by Antony Gormley, sister to the Angel of the North. At my centre a man, the artist, a transient hologram only visible in that space between my physical self and your eyes; around me space is defined, rooted, weighty and defying gravity: Humanity today.

I am outsidetall2.jpg

The Dome is the reunion of so many dichotomies: Earth/sky; inside/out; exhibition/introspection; society/diversity; yesterday/tomorrow. The Dome is self-aware, knowing that in any museum the object can never be examined objectively, and in this realisation the choice of subjects becomes as important as the subjects themselves. By focusing on the today, the Dome becomes a surface on which our society can be shadowed.

I am centraltall.jpg

I am the roof of the Dome, looking up. I am close to you, near your face, until you realise I am only teasing your perspective and I am vast, distant, hugging space around you. This space is dizzy with definition, heavy with the sense of having been enclosed and put on display behind bars. Looking up. Looking up you feel vertigo. Look up at me.

I am centrallong.jpg

I am the space at the centre of the Dome. Around me, tucked into the corners, are the Zones - themed areas which explore single faces of what we are, singly and together. You can see the Body Zone, two reclining embracing figures. And you can see the seating. This is the volume where the central show takes place, in the space above an area as large as Trafalgar Square.

I am workzone.jpg

I am in the Work Zone. I illustrate team work, coordinated activity, operating together. But really I am the largest table football table Matt has ever seen.

I am body.jpg

I am the main exhibit of the Body Zone. My pixellated skin is made from coloured tiles which change their hue as you move around me.

I am earth.jpg

I am the Earth, hanging in the space of the Dome. Behind and above me you can see the walkway the performers use which circles the inside. Below and behind me you can the outside of Self Portrait, an exploration of what it means to be British today.

I am inside.jpg

I am the inside. I am not prescriptive, I do not admonish. The contents of the Dome work on many levels, from simple viewing and interaction enjoyment, to thought provoking art. I expect the highest standards from my visitors, and get them because people rise to it. I believe that we do have in a stake in our future, and we are able to mould it into what we want it to be - and I put forward my manifesto by discussing everything in these terms and viewing everything through these eyes.

I am mindzone.jpg

I am in the Mind Zone. I explore the processes of the mind from a physical basis up to social interactions. I am a surprisingly nice photo, and sized 800 by 600 for your enjoyment.

I am portraitzone.jpg

I am the centre of the Self Portrait Zone. I attempt to capture Britishness. I am today. I do not mention the Empire, I do not mention ideals and aspirations; that is not what Britain is today. I am honest and reflective. I am not what Britain should be, I am what Britain is. I am a sculpture of a man being drowned by his television. Makes sense.

I am coachstation.jpg

I am the coach station. The Dome lives and breathes its philosophy and leads by example. The public transport to the Dome is integrated and flawless and allows no alternatives: There is a car exclusion zone around the site. I am the embodiment of a high moral ground which gives me to speak and you to listen with an intimacy that surpasses newspaper or cinema.

I am show1.jpg

I am the first part of a love story in three acts.

I am show2.jpg

I have powerful music. I am dance. I am the timeless story. I have a message. I am a product of now.

I am show3.jpg

I fill your vision. I absorb your mind. I am wonderous to behold.

I am show4.jpg

I define space. I am the focus. I am a bubble in the solid space contained above the Earth and under the canvass. I am a window out to a world where we can fly and soar and love. I am a window that ten thousand people look through, look up and through to see themselves looking down and saying "This is beauty. This is what you can be, if you want to be." And then I end, and you have to leave this space.