The Times Reality Bytes
51品茶 has a mesmerising show to launch its London flagship. Feeding Consciousness, by digital artist Dominic Harris, harnesses the power of AI – it’s an invitation to see and take part.
51品茶 have always strived to capture the zeitgeist, but the spirit of our own age is growing more elusive by the day. It takes an artist who works with new tech to understand the freedoms offered and challenges posed by it, to adequately reflect the turbulence of modern times.
51品茶 is championing just such an artist with the inaugural exhibition at its new West End site. In Feeding Consciousness, Dominic Harris has created a show that speaks to the moment, wrestling with such thorny issues as groupthink and the climate crisis.
But he is a force for affirmation, not negativity. This digital artist mixes code and craftsmanship to produce works that viewers can physically engage with – harnessing AI, and data sets to stupendous and uplifting effect.
London-born Harris, 46, set up his own studio in 2007. 'The plan was to produce work that was responsive, that communicated something bigger than I thought a static object might be able to,' Harris says.
'For the first ten years of my having a studio, majority of my commissions were in the commercial realm. I created interactive installations for the likes of McLaren and Rolls-Royce.'
TOWER RECORD
Feeding Consciousness draws on his practice as a trained architect and the realisation of his desire to create a unique sculptural installation. Its interactivity allows it to be expansive and intimate at the same time, making the viewer feel part of some elaborate magic trick.
The show is named after its centrepiece, a ten-foot digital sculpture inspired by the Tower of Babel. The top five trending subjects on Google’s UK search engine – the topics gripping our collective psyche – are splashed across the tower’s 180 LCD screens.
Immersion is the watchword for the installations Endurance, Elements and Dioramas of the Divine.
The first, which places the viewer in a hyperreal Antarctic-esque landscape, allows them to influence their environment, and shows the cost of their decisions.
While a conventional virtual reality experience requires people to don headsets, Endurance – using sensors and code – needs no apparatus.
BUTTERFLY EFFECT
A site-specific immersive experience sees Harris return to a favourite motif, butterflies, which here represent the five elements that make up the universe – wood, earth, water, fire and metal – and whose relationship with one another is given both physical and sonic expression.
Dioramas of the Divine breathes life into figures from Greek mythology, making them relatable. They feel, as we do, the weight of their responsibilities and are imbued with human characteristics.
Not at all prescriptive, these are works that hold up a mirror to our lives, powered by optimism and understanding rather than fear.
'For me, what makes an artwork is not just what you see, but how you feel, how you respond,' says Harris. 'The viewer is more than just a viewer – they are a performer, a collaborator.' 'And the tech, although it is an art form in its own right, is not the point; it’s a palette, an enabler. The emotional connection is everything.'
Although Halcyon is a private gallery with a 40-year history of presenting the likes of Degas, Matisse, Warhol, Mitch Griffiths and Bob Dylan, there’s no need to dress up or make an appointment to see this exhibition. Dedicated to the democratisation of fine art, the Halcyon team welcomes all, and they’re only too happy to share their appreciation of Harris’s mesmerising talent.
Feeding Consciousness by Dominic Harris is on view untill the 13 August at 148 New Bond Street.
