The Store X and The Vinyl Factory in London partner once again to present a collaborative exhibition. This time, the partnership turns into Transformer: A Rebirth of Wonder, a group show curated by Jefferson Hack that includes new and commissioned artworks by the likes of Doug Aitken, Harley Weir, Donna Huanca and Juliana Huxtable, which will be on view at 180 The Strand until December 8.
“The artists in Transformer look deeply into the present and see the future. Each artist is a powerful mediator of their community and culture, using storytelling, poetics, and ritual to author new narratives and expand our field of vision. They are world-makers, inviting us to access altered states of consciousness as we step beyond reality into a series of highly authored, staged environments”, says the show’s curator, Jefferson Hack, better known for founding media outlets like Dazed & Confused, AnOther, and Nowness.
Borrowing its name from Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s I Am Waiting poem, the exhibition aims to convey the same message as the text: a call for a change of consciousness, the need for a better life and the rebirth of a new wonder – bear in mind, Ferlinghetti was part of the Beat generation. To do so, the contemporary artists selected have created huge, immersive pieces tackling issues such as identity, cooperation, compassion and our future. As Hack puts it, “The artists in Transformer look to the past, the future and into a Rebirth of Wonder. Through shamanism, technology, speculative realism, energy transference, intimacy and healing, the singular becomes multiple and prismatic, the binary becomes defunct.”
Borrowing its name from Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s I Am Waiting poem, the exhibition aims to convey the same message as the text: a call for a change of consciousness, the need for a better life and the rebirth of a new wonder – bear in mind, Ferlinghetti was part of the Beat generation. To do so, the contemporary artists selected have created huge, immersive pieces tackling issues such as identity, cooperation, compassion and our future. As Hack puts it, “The artists in Transformer look to the past, the future and into a Rebirth of Wonder. Through shamanism, technology, speculative realism, energy transference, intimacy and healing, the singular becomes multiple and prismatic, the binary becomes defunct.”
The exhibition Transformer: A Rebirth of Wonder is on view until December 8 at 180 The Strand, London.
Chen Wei. In The Waves #1
Donna Huanca. Lengua Llorona
Doug Aitken. New Era. Courtesy the artist; 303 Gallery, New York; Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich; Victoria Miro, London/Venice; and Regen Projects, Los Angeles
Harley Weir and George Rouy. Bilndly Touching the Flood
Jenn Nkiru. Rebirth Is Necessary
Korakrit Arunanondchai. With history in a room filled with people with funny names 4