Few music bands in recent history have been as transformative as Gorillaz. Created by musician and former Blur member, Damon Albarn, and artist Jamie Hewlett back in 1998, the new millennium made us believe anything was possible — even a four-piece digital band. With time, they’ve had to evolve, but that legacy will be forever. Now, the Copper Box in London is celebrating the group’s 25th anniversary with the exhibition House of Kong, on view through September 3.
But if you know anything about Gorillaz, is that they like to do things their way. So you can guess that House of Kong isn’t precisely a nostalgic retrospective. It is something else entirely. In collaboration with Jamie Hewlett, Damon Albarn, and Eleven Management, the concept behind House of Kong was developed by artist and creative director Stephen Gallagher and his studio, Swear. Speaking on it, Gallagher says: “House of Kong is not a retrospective, it’s an audio-visual artwork; an installation that takes a glance backwards in order to identify the path ahead. […] This is no ordinary exhibition because in the world of Gorillaz, nothing is ever quite as it seems.”
Visitors who’re lucky to get a ticket (many dates are already sold out) will get a glimpse of what goes behind the extraordinary world of Gorillaz, who challenged the industry and social norms in the pre-digital world. As they explain, it’s a journey “through the band’s life of misadventures, musical innovation and ground-breaking virtual ways since these four outsiders - bassist Murdoc Niccals, singer 2D, drummer Russel Hobbs and guitarist Noodle - first came together.”
The exhibition House of Kong is on view through September 3 at Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
