The Shock of the Now - Issue #183
Afternoon All - Welcome to Issue 182 of The Shock of the Now! I hope you’re having an enjoyable week.
This week, the full issue includes seven Recommended Exhibitions, as well as eleven fresh Artist Opportunities.
I hope you enjoy Issue 182, and if so do forward it along! As always, questions and comments are welcome, so feel free to get in touch, H x
Recommended Exhibitions Opening This Week :
‘Virtual Beauty’ Group Exhibition - Somerset House, The Strand (23rd July - 28th September)
Somerset House presents ‘Virtual Beauty’, a group exhibition delving into the influence of artificial intelligence, social media, and virtual identities on self-image.
Featuring Anan Fries, Andrew Thomas Huang, Angelfire, Amalia Ulman, Aleksander Nærbø, Ben Cullen Williams and Isamaya Ffrench, Bunny Kinney, Frederik Heyman, Harriet Davey, Hyungkoo Lee (above), Ines Alpha, Minne Atairu, ORLAN and Qualeasha Wood.
The exhibition, a project initiated by HEK (House of Electronic Arts, Basel), is co-curated by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, Mathilde Friis, Bunny Kinney and supported by Claire Catterall, Senior Curator at Somerset House.
“The exhibition will feature interactive installations and pioneering works that challenge traditional beauty standards. Highlights include ORLAN’s Omniprésence (1993), a groundbreaking performance in which the artist live-streamed her own facial aesthetic surgery to critique Western beauty ideals, and Amalia Ulman’s Excellences & Perfections, a powerful commentary on the authenticity of social media personas. Artificial intelligence’s perception of beauty will be examined through AI-generated portraits by Minnie Atairu, Ben Cullen Williams, and Isamaya Ffrench, while Harriet Davey, Frederik Heyman, and Andrew Thomas Huang explore digital self-expression and the creation of avatars beyond human boundaries.” - Somerset House
‘Les Diplomates’ Group Exhibition - Gnossienne Gallery, Elephant & Castle (23rd July - 13th August, opening Wednesday 23rd July, 6-9pm)
Gnossienne Gallery presents ‘Les Diplomates’, a group exhibition featuring Lulua Al Yahya, Uccella Khan-Thomas, Madison Wells, Annie Metzger, Effie Cherif, Anousha Salehi and Scott Brown.
‘Sun Dog’ Group Exhibition - Cob Gallery, Bloomsbury (25th July - 16th August, opening Thursday 24th July, 6-8pm)
Cob presents ‘Sun Dog’, a group exhibition featuring Max Boyla (above), Angela Lane, Josh Raz and Robert Roest.
“A phenomenon known as a Sun Dog occurs when atmospheric conditions bend light into luminous halos around the sun, creating a mirage of presence appearing as a doubled sun, a twin apparition in the sky. These rare meteorological events reveal how perception is shaped not only by optics but also by expectation, imagination, and belief. Such luminous anomalies highlight nature’s capacity to both deceive and dazzle the senses, producing effects that hover between the explicable and the sublime. Sun Dog brings together works by Joshua Raz, Angela Lane, Robert Roest, and Max Boyla - four artists who probe the thresholds of vision, where the natural and the spiritual, the empirical and the illusory, flicker and merge.” - Cob
Alfie Rouy & Jesse Pollock - ‘Axis’ Two-Person Exhibition - Hurst Contemporary, Fitzrovia (24th July - 3rd October, opening Thursday 24th July, 6-9pm)
Hurst Contemporary presents ‘Axis’, a two-person exhibition of painter Alfie Rouy and sculptor Jesse Pollock.
“More than an artistic collaboration, the exhibition is a testament to a decade-long friendship. Indeed, Rouy and Pollock grew up in neighbouring villages in Kent. A mutual appreciation for each other’s distinct yet complementary practices inspired this exhibition. The title Axis metaphorically captures the artists as two forces stabilising and energising one another. For Pollock, the process of creating a sculpture is symbolised by the perpetual motion of a spinning wheel, alluding to a process of repetition and transformation where form gradually emerges and distorts over time. Rouy, by contrast, compares his practice to an orbit in constant flux as it searches for balance. This new body of work, composed of both paintings and sculptures, meditates on themes of spirituality, nostalgia, mortality, and the experience of modernity.” - Hurst Contemporary
Samuel Ojo - ‘Ìrìn Àjò’ Solo Exhibition - The Cartoon Museum, Fitzrovia (24th July - 29th November, opening Thursday 24th July, 6-8pm)
The Cartoon Museum presents Samuel Ojo’s solo exhibition ‘Ìrìn Àjò’.
“The Cartoon Museum is excited to announce Ìrìn Àjò, an exhibition of the work of Samuel Ojo featuring 12 cartoons based on Samuel’s experiences as a migrant in the UK. The works combine personal narratives and policy critique, speaking truth to power while capturing the humour and hope embedded in migrant life. The exhibition seeks to reframe the migrant not as a burden, but as a contributor, cultural bridge, and human being deserving of dignity. Samuel Ojo moved to the UK in 2022, leaving Nigeria for Birmingham. This exhibition reflects on his journey so far, as well as the contributions that immigrants make to the UK and the ways they are perceived by the people around them, the media, and the government.” - The Cartoon Museum