Gordon Bennett this was one hell of a ride.
Imagine being transported into that crazy scene at the end of Space Odyssey. Or being trapped in a k hole watching the wireframe graphics of the Commodore 64 version of Elite running past at hyperspeed. Or being pounded into a corner by relentless electronic thumps, static and strobes.
Well all these emotions and sensations came thick and fast as we watched Ryoji Ikeda’s remarkable audio-visual installation at 180 Studios in central London yesterday.
The action takes place in a large room where the entire ceiling is a huge video screen.
Visitors are invited to lay down on bean bags, with the host giving instructions on how to get out if it all gets too much.
The website warns:
Photosensitivity Warning: This exhibition features intense lights, high-frequency sounds, and rapid video transitions which may cause strong sensory stimulation.
For 17 minutes, viewers are bombarded with fast moving screens, data readouts. maps and thunderous electronic noises, beeps and bleeps.
Occasionally familiar place names may emerge amongst the onslaught of fast moving lines and contours, while at times the intensity almost becomes unbearable.
At the end the most overwhelming sensation is relief that it is over. Walking out in to the daylight you may find yourself unable to walk or think straight. This thing hits hard.
But then you start to appreciate the sheer power of what you’ve seen. This isn’t art you’re going to forget in a hurry, neither is it the sort of thing you’re going to try and film for your Insta feed because it demands your total attention.
Like snorting gnarly drugs or knocking back a particularly ferocious hard liquor, sometimes a bit of pain makes the experience more complete.
We loved it.
More info
Experience the world premiere of Ryoji Ikeda’s latest monumental installation – a total sensory encounter that transforms vast datasets into an immersive audiovisual environment, exploring the intersection of art and physics in unprecedented scale.
Commissioned by 180 Studios, Ryoji Ikeda’s new site-specific audio-visual installation data-cosm [n°1] is a unique immersive experience charting the full spectrum of data on nature – from the microscopic scale of particle physics to the macroscopic of astrophysics, as was previously evident in the artist’s data-verse project.
data-cosm [n°1] functions as a giant microscope, a scientific apparatus, a clinical device, a monitoring system, and a window to an infinitely vast space. Visitors are invited to lie down on the floor and look up at the large LED screen set on the ceiling above them, their bodies surrounded by Ikeda’s soundscapes – a total sensory experience.
Ryoji Ikeda’s DATA-COSM [n°1] – buy tickets here
Runs until Saturday 21 December 2025
180 Studios
Level 2, 180 Strand, Surrey St, Temple, London WC2R 1EA