In the 1960s Kounellis explored the potential of ordinary materials such as coal. He was particularly attracted to objects with sensory or tactile characteristics. In one part of this work, lumps of coal are contained in Royal Mail bags and partially concealed behind a chimney shade. The potent aroma of the coal emanates from behind the screen, building an awareness of our own senses. This is juxtaposed by a wall made from jewel-like pieces of coloured glass that acts as a further barrier within the gallery. Employing the same radical manipulation of space that was central to his earlier sculptures, the installation represents Kounellis’s continuing interest in uniting art and life through a poetic sensibility.