A Multi-Sensory Exploration of Light and Sound

Curated and presented by The Vinyl Factory and Fact in collaboration with Audemars Piguet Contemporary, 180 The Strand reopens to the public following months of lockdown with an energetic new show by Ryoji Ikeda. In the largest exhibition of the artist’s work ever staged, including numerous world premieres, visitors are walked through 12 audio-visual artworks in groups, witnessing the building’s concrete spaces aglow with blinking strobe lights and mesmerising soundscapes. People are immersed in a dynamic digital universe, a subterranean exploration of sound and light. Highlight of the exhibition is the debuting of the final part of his data-verse trilogy: dubbed data-verse 3, it has been five years in the making, and for the first time it is displayed alongside parts 1 and 2. Ikeda’s innovative work explores the essential characteristics of sound and light by means of mathematical precision and aesthetics. The artist engages with frequencies and scales difficult for the human ear and mind to comprehend, visualising sounds, and rendering the imperceptible through numerical systems and computer aesthetics. By orchestrating sounds, visuals, materials, physics and mathematics, Ikeda goes beyond the conceptual to delve into extremes and infinites, testing the limits of human senses and digital technology. The exhibition is also the first show by a solo artist to take over multiple floors at 180 Studios, a space that has been adapted specifically for Ikeda’s work.