I follow Imbue on Instagram and enjoy his thought-provoking artwork. Over the last few weeks, my Instagram feed went wild with notifications about his forthcoming exhibition. The images circulating included the Mona Lisa as viewed on mobile phones and a horse constructed from Amazon boxes. The exhibition was called ‘Lost All Meaning’, so I headed down to Digbeth to see the artwork. I do enjoy contemporary art. Having lived through the glam rock, punk and new romantic music movements, the album covers were always treasured. Imbue’s work captures much of that excitement and brings it right up to date.
I arrived at the building on Floodgate Street and was immediately drawn to the walls where Imbue had arranged his work. A food and drinks machine was set up to dispense “faith healing” drugs. I bought a pack from the machine dispenser, and inside the blister pack, the tablets were arranged in the shape of a cross. This religious theme ran throughout the exhibition, with pieces such as The Fall of Man (UV print on a used MacBook lid) and McChurch, which, when cut out, resembles a McDonald’s Happy Meal box. The 100 Phones exhibit depicting the Mona Lisa was remarkable, though it makes me feel I really must go and see the actual Mona Lisa now!
Many of the prints were mounted on the wall and arranged in a 3-by-3 grid, including Leonardo da Vinci–inspired printed circuit boards with images of the Mona Lisa, Salvator Mundi, and Saint John the Baptist. Kids with Guns used shooting targets with added Mickey Mouse ears, a powerful indictment of the world’s current gun problems. Nearby was a bullet encased in a bottle, designed to be used in a 3D-printed gun.
The theme of 3D printing ran through the exhibition, with the interplay of technology and everyday life presented not only to shock but also to make you think.
Two large exhibits dominated the centre of the warehouse. The horse made from Amazon boxes must have stood 12 metres tall, as shown in the photos. Quite a few home deliveries were needed to construct this horse. To my mind, it resembled a Trojan Horse. Very fitting, as we bring Amazon boxes into our homes without a moment’s thought.
The other large exhibit was a veiled statue that Imbue had secretly scanned during a visit to the Louvre. The replica of Antonio Corradini’s Femme Voilée rotated in front of a bank of 3D printers. Small white statues were being printed and stored in a box, ready to be sold. This work raised many questions: how is it possible to scan such famous statues and then make them accessible to all? Did Imbue “steal” the statue from the Louvre, or is this simply how art will be shared in the future?
There were many other exhibits, too many to describe in detail. There are several accounts of the exhibition on the Internet each featuring their favoured artwork.
Personally, my favourite work was DNArk. I am currently watching a cheesy but entertaining TV series on the Syfy channel called The Ark, where the last of humanity is sent into space carrying the DNA of the animal world. Imbue’s artwork consists of a transparent boat with multiple rows of red vials representing DNA samples. It left me wondering: how are we going to preserve the world’s DNA if we keep destroying the environment?
The bonus of the visit was meeting Imbue himself and taking his picture. He was open to conversation and happy to discuss his artwork and the ideas behind it. The exhibition only ran for a few days, but I will be on the lookout for his future work. Imbue has created artwork that resonates with today’s technology, cleverly weaving in references to past masters while exploring how we interact with the modern world. The role of religion seems to have morphed into technology, as people reinvent the world around them.
As a photographer, I appreciated how the exhibition was staged against the backdrop of an old industrial engineering workshop. The natural light from the ceiling windows and the texture of the walls provided the perfect setting for the artwork. As always, I used my X100VI for most of the pictures, whilst favouring my iPhone’s wide-angle lens for the overall views.
I found this exhibition space interesting as last year I was at the same place for the final day of the Floodgate an entertainment complex. As ever Digbeth changes and I have added my blog link below.