Originally published by The Vinyl Factory.
An exhibition featuring new work by Jenn Nkiru, Doug Aitken, Juliana Huxtable and more.
The Store X The Vinyl Factory presents a new group show TRANSFORMER: A Rebirth Of Wonder at 180 The Strand this October.
Curated by Jefferson Hack, TRANSFORMER opens on Tuesday, October 2 as part of Frieze London, and features newly commissioned and debut works by Doug Aitken, Sophia Al-Maria & Victoria Sin, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Donna Huanca, Juliana Huxtable, Evan Ifekoya, Dozie Kanu, Quentin Lacombe, Lawrence Lek, Jenn Nkiru, Chen Wei and Harley Weir & George Rouy.
The title of the show is inspired by beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s ‘I Am Waiting’, which comments on the societal problems of contemporary America, and calls for a change of consciousness – the rebirth of a new wonder.
As such, TRANSFORMER explores ideas of identity, representation and self-image, while questioning how coming together to take action can help shape positive change.
As Hack says: “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.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by Alchemical Realms, a programme of performances, talks, workshops and community-based actions by collectives and artists invited by TRANSFORMER associate curator Susanna Davies-Crook.
TRANSFORMER is the second major exhibition to be presented by The Store X The Vinyl Factory this autumn, following the immersive a/v exhibition Other Spaces with United Visual Artists, also opening on October 2.
It is the latest in a series of exhibitions commissioned by The Store X The Vinyl Factory at 180 The Strand, including Strange Days: Memories of the Future, in partnership with New York’s New Museum curated by Massimiliano Gioni (2018), Everything at Once, in partnership with Lisson Gallery (2017), and The Infinite Mix, in partnership with the Hayward Gallery curated by Ralph Rugoff (2016).
Visitor info:
TRANSFORMER: A Rebirth of Wonder
Dates: October 2 – December 8, 2019
Address: 180 The Strand, London, WC2R 1EA
Free Entry
Opening times:
Tuesday – Sunday:
12pm – 7pm Tuesday – Saturday
12pm – 6pm Sunday
Listen next: FACT mix 706 – Juliana Huxtable
