On the way to Wembley

The new, saucer-shaped Wembley Stadium - almost twice the size of the old one and crowned with that majestic steel arch - rises like some splendid apparition as you emerge from Wembley Park Tube station.

A stone's throw away is a less eye-catching sight: a disused warehouse in a desolate retail park. Yet it's a venue chosen by art sponsors Artangel for its proximity to the new stadium. Their latest collaboration is with US artist Paul Pfeiffer, who has mined the national psyche to produce The Saints, a work inspired by England's 1966 World Cup victory.

The warehouse floor is covered with sand; all around you is the sound of a roaring, jubilant crowd. Enter a cubicle and you're faced with two screens: one showing black-and-white footage of the 1966 game, the other colour footage of a group of chanting Filipino men, their shouts mixed with those of the 1966 crowd. In front, a tiny video monitor shows the game with all but one player digitally removed (a recurring Pfeiffer trick): a lone England man chasing an invisible ball.

'It's a particular interest of mine to play with scale,' says Pfeiffer. 'Video installations these days are really humongous and spectacular, and I wanted to reverse that. So I'm hoping the sound provides a kind of entry way, an initial punch.'

Honolulu-born Pfeiffer spent his formative years in the Philippines, where he says there is no real football culture. He claims to be no great 'soccer' fan. 'I'm interested in the cohesion of group identities in something big. I'm into the social context of soccer and its meaning in terms of spectacle and history.'

The piece is called The Saints, not only because Pfeiffer is fascinated by the connection he sees between religion and the adoration of celebrity, but also in reference to the hymn When The Saints Go Marching In. 'A lot of the chants and songs that were sung in 1966 are religious songs coming out of the Protestant hymn book,' he explains. As an American, what does he make of our obsession with the 1966 game? 'I don't pretend to know the depths of meaning involved,' he laughs. 'What I'm interested in is the broader picture and in using materials that are culturally loaded.'

Whether you're football crazy or not, it's clear Pfeiffer captures that particular game's unique emotional resonance.

Until Oct 28, The Junction (Wembley Retail Park), Engineers Way HA9, Wed to Sat 11am to 7pm, free. Tel: 020 7713 1402. Tube: Wembley Park

Paul Pfeiffer
The Junction
Wembley Retail Park, Engineers Way, HA9 0EG