Other Spaces | 180 Strand
The last exhibition I went to in this place, a Brutalist former office building next to King’s College, featured an ankle-aching 20+ video artists in a programme curated by the New Museum.
This time, the edit is a lot tighter, helped as ever by 180 Strand’s creative partners The Vinyl Factory, with assistance from Paris’ Fondation Cartier. Just three immersive works are on show.
My favourite was Vanishing Point, pictured above. Strobing white lights pick out different perspectives on the opposite wall. It’s inspired by the inventors of pictoral perspective of the Italian Renaissance, but the main takeaway I had is that it looks really cool. It’s from London based collective United Visual Artists.
Elsewhere, there was another chance to see Bernie Krause’s The Great Animal Orchestra, a polyphonic collection of bestial sounds from around the world, helpfully annotated as part of the light show: the audience sees waves of sound traced around the perimeter of a large room.
Just as when I saw it at the Fondation Cartier a couple of years back, there were a couple of chatty toddlers in the room, providing a running commentary of the animal noises. No wonder, it’s a totally fascinating experience for anyone of any age.
Though maybe it’s a commentary on national parenting styles that the poor Parisian child was viciously shushed by the crowd, and his London cousin was merely met with disapproving silence.
Either way, the lush tropical soundscapes were enough of an escape from another grim London winter that I was glad to have encountered them again.
Other Spaces is at 180 Strand (London). October 02 - December 08 2019