Store X The Vinyl Factory Presents

Lisson Gallery, Ryoji Ikeda, Arthur Jafa, Jeremy Shaw, Virgil Abloh & Ben Kelly

180 Strand

Free

180 strand stole my heart with 'The Infinite Mix' last year. The exhibition was a roaring success and contained multiple short films from international and independent artists. Returning for a mega-show this winter, 180 Strand is showing a multitude of works, from a massive show by the Lisson Gallery to a rooftop film by Arthur Jafa, to a huge installation of a wrecked nightclub by Virgil Abloh and Ben Kelly.

Upon entering the venue, to your immediate left is a show entitled 'Test Pattern' by Ryoji Ikeda. It is a huge immersive space where Ikeda has produced an astronomical sound and light installation. Amongst glitches and high pitched shrieks, the floor jerks and blinks manically, it feels as though you have stepped into a technical nightmare, much more fearsome than any black screen of death (que the Windows 10 update...) I believe that Ikeda's idea was to prove how accustomed to multiple sensory activators we have become. We are constantly being fuelled with information from the internet to advertisements to television - living in a digital age is somewhat scary, and there is nowhere which hones this idea in more than walking barefoot over Ikeda's test pattern. OVERALL RATING: ****

Following Ikeda's work is the highly ambitious and vast 'Everything at Once', a 50 year celebration of the Lisson Gallery. Based on the quote by John Cage "Nowadays everything happens at once and our souls are conveniently electronic (omniattentive)". Everything at Once wants to show how time and space are no longer rational or linear concepts and how contemporary art, like life, assaults us from all angles and from anywhere on the globe. I have to say that I didn't see one video installation in this exhibit which I enjoyed - a man is washed up on an island and hit multiple times over the head with a coconut 'Vexation Island', Marina Abramovic has a baffling series of three incredibly long shows aiming to free her voice body and memory, Laure Prouvost follows a group of pretentious and irritating teenagers around Los Angeles supposedly talking about 'dreams', but actually just talking a load of shit.

The sculpture, painting and other works included in this particular exhibition were equally unimpressive. There was a fairly interesting dome by Anish Kapoor entitled 'The End of the World', which managed to grab my attention for a minute or two, but wasn't enough to save the overall show. I don't really know how to explain what I didn't get or like about the show, I guess nothing shone or jumped out at me as really having any meaning or purpose. 'Test Pattern' was a lot more in line of depicting Cage's quote, and in fact would have worked fantastically as a visual interpretation of it. 'Everything at Once' dominates the venue and takes up most of the space, go and see a bit of it if you're interested but don't carry on if the first few works don't enthuse you, as those are the best of a bad bunch. OVERALL RATING: **

Once you have finally completed three floors of 'Everything at Once', you are invited onto the rooftop of 180 Strand to a fusion of Christian revival tents, Thomas Edison's Black Maria, adhoc refugee structures and Jamacian soundsystems. Within this carefully thought out location, you are presented with 7 minute film by Arthur Jafa "Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death". Set to Ultralight Beam by Kanye West, Jafa's film traces African-American identity through a series of contemporary images and videos. Each image is emotional and empathetic, whether it be of the LA riots, police brutality, or a young girl claiming "If only we loved Black People as much as we loved Black Culture". Jafa aims at getting his point across and creates a beautifully poignant work of art which will resonate with many and touch all. OVERALL RATING: ****

Finally, there are two outdoor spaces with further exhibits to attend. Unfortunately, we ran out of time on our visit and Jeremy Shaw's 'Liminals' was closed for the evening, however, after reading the accompanying text I'm not too sure I'd have wanted to see the pretentious waffle anyway. One definitely worth seeing though is 'Ruin', a collection of broken fragments and abandoned relics from a ruined Mancunian nightclub. Virgil Abloh and Ben Kelly have set it up as if it is still in play, with televisions playing visuals of dance clubs and life through history and music blaring to a decent light show. This would be an incredibly cool place to have a party, and is itself an incredibly cool piece of artwork. Go for some history on old school raving, or to go and immerse yourself in a clever and modern exploration of nightlife culture. OVERALL RATING: ****

My recommendation is to go to 180 Strand and see everything apart from 'Everything at Once'. It takes up the majority of your time and may cause you to miss out on better works within the space. Ikeda, Jafa and Abloh & Kelly are ones not to miss, purely for the diversity amongst all of their works and the powerful messages and effects they omit.