Drawing on the simulated landscapes of computer games, Rafman has created a large-scale artificial hedge-maze populated with digitally manipulated sculptural busts from his series and a new 8ft figure. The installation heightens the collapse in our distinctions between the real and the digital as visitors are invited to enter a virtual space using Oculus Rift technology. Transporting us from the maze, imaginary scenarios interchange with tangible experiences and dissolve our perceptions of place and time.
The exhibition also brings together recent video works which collage together images, text and footage drawn from video games, internet memes and virtual landscapes. These poetic new narratives critically engage with the aesthetics and subcultures of online communities. Visually compelling, funny and shocking, these videos are presented in new sculptural installations that reference spaces of play and spaces of contemplation, forcing the viewer to physically enter into these unsettling psychological realms.
A new monograph on Rafman’s work will accompany the show featuring texts by Kevin McGarry, Ana Teixeira Pinto and a conversation between the artist and Booker Prize shortlisted writer Tom McCarthy. There will also be an extensive programme of free public talks and live performances.
The exhibition is curated by Maitreyi Maheshwari, and has been generously supported by Seventeen Gallery.
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