Text by CLOT Magazine
Transformers: A Rebirth of Wonder is a new group exhibition opening at 180 The Strand on October 2nd as part of Frieze London 2019. Curated by Jefferson Hack, the two-month-long exhibit follows a series of group shows at 180 Strand supported by The Store x The Vinyl Factory and features never-before-seen work by some of today’s leading contemporary artists, such as Lawrence Lek, Doug Aitkens, and Dozie Kanu among others.
The multimedia exhibit’s name is a reference to the acclaimed poem I Am Waiting, written in 1958 by an American ‘beat’ poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in which he addresses the challenges of modern society and calls for a rebirth of wonder, the rebirth of a new consciousness. Likewise, Transformers imagines the possibilities of sharing, forming new relationships, expressing empathy, and uniting in an effort to transform the world for the better while at the same time confronting contemporary issues of representation, identity, and self-esteem.
Jefferson Hack is the co-founder and CEO of Dazed Media, the renowned independent media company celebrated for producing prize-winning stories across print, digital, and video brands that focus on fashion, arts, film, music, and youth culture. He describes this upcoming exhibition as follows: 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.
A series of talks, workshops and performances called Alchemical Realms will run alongside the exhibit featuring creatives such as Chaos Magic and Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. The programme aims to encourage visitors to contribute to the conversation by expanding on the concepts explored in the exhibition and further immerse themselves in the artists’ visions of tomorrow’s world.
