7 November–19 December 2014
King’s College London
Somerset House East Wing
Inigo Rooms
Strand, London WC2R 2LS
UK
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday noon–18h
www.kcl.ac.uk/culturalinstitute
Press release
#decoding
De/coding the Apocalypse is a new exhibition by visual artist Michael Takeo Magruder exploring contemporary creative visions inspired by and based on the Book of Revelation.
The word “apocalypse” originally indicated an “unveiling,” and the Book itself documents not only the destruction of the current world, but also maps out the creation of a new, better one. Using the latest in technology, the show brings various elements to life in ways that are as playful as they are challenging, and investigates our enduring fascination with this seminal biblical text, updating and interrogating its aspects.
The exhibition is an interdisciplinary collaboration supported by the Cultural Institute that blends arts practice and academic research and follows a one-year artist’s residency by Michael Takeo Magruder in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at King’s College London, in partnership with MOSTYN contemporary art centre and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
By aligning contemporary art and theological study, the collaboration aims to create new ways of looking at an ancient text and make it relevant for modern audiences. Takeo has produced works in response to specialist “readings” of the Book, provided by scholars representing the diversity of sub-disciplines that are typically part of the study of religion. His conversers were Prof. Ben Quash, Dr. Edward Adams, Ms. Michelle Fletcher, Dr. Natasha O’Hear, and Dr. Aaron Rosen.
The exhibition presents five digital media installations—The Horse as Technology; A New Jerusalem; Apocalypse Forever; Revelation as Mirror; Playing the Apocalypse—each housed in a separate room and constructed using a range of digital technologies such as computers and mobile devices, code systems, live data and user interactivity, as well as physical materials that are associated with more traditional types of art such as painting, print and sculpture. At its core, the project is a blending of new and old media, envisioning a contemporary update and expansion of the longstanding ideas and contexts that have surrounded the Book of Revelation throughout its history, and further broaden and strengthen the appreciation of this crucial text for the history of mankind.
Alfredo Cramerotti, writer and Director, MOSTYN, serves as curator of the exhibition whilst Ben Quash, Professor of Christianity and the Arts in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London is the academic Principal Investigator.
Presented by the Cultural Institute at King’s College London in partnership with contemporary art centre MOSTYN and the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at King’s. 3D Printer and materials generously supplied by PrintME 3D.
Michael Takeo Magruder is a visual artist and researcher who works with digital media including real-time data, immersive environments, mobile devices and virtual worlds. His practice explores ideas ranging from media criticism and aesthetic journalism to digital formalism and computational aesthetics, deploying Information Age technologies and systems to examine our networked, media-rich world.
In the last 15 years, Michael’s projects have been showcased in over 250 exhibitions in 30 countries, including Manifesta 8, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Region of Murcia; the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; EAST International, Norwich; FACT, Liverpool; Georges Pompidou Center, Paris; KIBLA Multimedijski Center, Maribor; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; and Trans-Media-Akademie, Hellerau. He was the recipient of numerous grants and awards, amongst others by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Arts Council England; Esmée Fairbairn Foundation; EU Culture Programme; and the US National Endowment for the Arts. Several of his most well known digital artworks were added to the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art at Cornell University. For further information about Michael’s work, visit www.takeo.org.
Further press information, images and interviews:
John Dunning and Luke Neve at Margaret_ on: T +44 (0) 20 7923 2861 / [email protected]
