A Journey Through London Subculture: 1980s to Now
ICA Off-Site: The Old Selfridges Hotel
13 September–20 October 2013
The Old Selfridges Hotel
1 Orchard Street
London W1
The ICA announces the full list of artists and designers taking part in a major new off-site project at The Old Selfridges Hotel in London titled A Journey Through London Subculture: 1980s to Now.
Gilbert & George, House of Beauty & Culture, Tom Dixon, Jeffrey Hinton, Bodymap, St John, Alexander McQueen, Martino Gamper, Julie Verhoeven, Giles Deacon, Charlie Porter, Chisenhale Gallery, Lucky PDF, Vogue Fabrics Nightclub, Sibling, J W Anderson, Bethan Laura Wood, Matthew Darbyshire and Louise Gray are amongst the 60 influential figures from London’s creative scene involved in the project.
The project will occupy the vast first floor of The Old Selfridges Hotel, a cavernous industrial raw space, situated on Orchard Street directly above the Selfridges Food Hall. The project entrance is situated next to Selfridges Food Hall. A Journey Through London Subculture: 1980s to Now seeks to make connections between London’s creative past and the present day using photographs of members of ‘The House of Beauty and Culture’ mudlarking on the banks of the River Thames as a starting point. For example, was early YBA, in fact, an extension of ’80s DIY culture? Is there a connection between Alexander McQueen and performance artist Leigh Bowery and from Bowery to his contemporary Trojan, to artist/poet David Robilliard and finally to Gilbert & George? In design terms, was Ron Arad’s ‘Concrete Sound’ hi-fi equipment connected to the salvage work of Andy The Furniture Maker, and from there might we connect to Martino Gamper’s reassembled chairs or the designs of Bethan Laura Wood? Can we extend the social influence of former nightclubs to artist collective LuckyPDF, or bars and venues like Vogue Fabrics and Cafe OTO?
Deploying over fifty vitrines, alongside video works, installations and billboard-sized images, the project brings together a wide range of multi-disciplinary practice including art, fashion, graphics, craft and design, highlighting the idea that distinct and differing art forms can exist in the same space at the same time. The timeline set by this project spans the moment when ’80s counterculture would arguably enter the mainstream and the London underground scene, ravaged by AIDS, would eventually be co-opted by a rising tide of commercialisation. In illustrating the path taken by London’s alternative scene, the project explores counterculture today and what emerging artists have in common with their countercultural forebears.
An exciting series of free weekly talks and events will take place over the course of the six-week duration and partners and speakers include award-winning SHOWstudio, renowned designer Tom Dixon and The Andy Warhol Museum.
SHOWstudio
Saturday 14 September, 2pm
Tom Dixon: Nightclubs, Bass Guitars and Welding Torches
Saturday 21 September, 2pm
Out of the Box: Live Warhol Time Capsule opening
Saturday 21 September, 6:30pm
Fliers: The Facebook of the Pre-Internet Age
Saturday 28 September, 2pm
Club Culture: Evolution of the London Scene
Saturday 5 October, 2pm
Accumulate, Appropriate
Saturday 12 October, 2pm
Collecting Art in the Age of Digital Technology
Saturday 19 October, 12:30pm
Bright Young Things
Saturday 19 October, 2pm
ICA Artist Editions
We collaborate with today’s most exciting artists to commission and produce limited-edition artworks. Members receive up to a 25% discount; all proceeds support our programme.
To accompany ICA Off-Site: Old Selfridges Hotel there will be new artists’ editions by Scott King, Francis Upritchard, Haroon Mirza, Lucky PDF and Julie Verhoeven.
For information or to purchase contact vicky.steer [at] ica.org.uk | T +44 (0) 20 7766 1425 | www.ica.org.uk/editions
Members receive up to 25% discount; all proceeds support the ICA.
Press information: Naomi Crowther | Press Officer | ICA | naomi.crowther [at] ica.org.uk | T 020 7766 1407
