180 Studios to present the UK premiere of Minor Daemon: Volume 1, a new film by Canadian artist and filmmaker Jon Rafman.
Rafman’s feature film presents a computer-generated fever-dream universe, drawing on the landscapes of online worlds to examine the interrelationship of technology and social consciousness.
Set in a surreal dystopia, Minor Daemon: Volume 1 tells the story of two young men who share an extraordinary gift for virtual reality gaming that could secure their freedom as they journey through a Hieronymus Bosch-like hellscape. Continuing where Rafman’s Dream Journal 2016-2019 (2019) left off, the new film harnesses consumer animation technology to raise aesthetic questions about computer-generated moving images, projecting the anxieties of 21st century techno-society into 3D animation.
Jon Rafman is known for his interdisciplinary practice that spans photography, sculpture, video, virtual reality, and installation. His work explores the relationship between digital technology and the communities it creates, drawing on the rich vocabulary and visuality of the internet to create poetic narratives that critically engage with the present.
Jon Rafman: Minor Daemon: Volume 1, 2nd February – 25th March 2023 180 The Strand, London
The presentation at 180 Studios coincides with a solo-exhibition of Jon Rafman at Sprüth Magers, London (3rd February – 25th March 2023).
About the artist
Jon Rafman born in 1981 in Montreal, Canada. He studied Philosophy and Literature at McGill University in Montreal and received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work explores the impact of technology on contemporary consciousness, incorporating the rich vocabulary of virtual worlds to create poetic narratives that critically engage with the present.
Raman’s recent solo exhibitions include Counterfeit Poast at Sprueth Magers Berlin (2022); ????????? & GRIMOIRES at Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin (2022); ??????? Ø? ?Ø????, Ordet, Milan (2022); Dream Journal 2016-2019, Central Museum, Utrecht (2020), The Mental Traveller, Fondazione Modena Arti Visive (2018), Dream Journal 16′-17′, Sprueth Magers Berlin (2017), I Have Ten Thousand Compound Eyes and Each is Named Suffering, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2016), Westfälischer Kunstverein, Munster (2016), Muse d’art Contemporain de Montréal (2015), and The Zabludowicz Collection, London (2015).
180 Studios is the emerging centre of London’s creative community. The Studios are housed at 180 The Strand, an iconic Brutalist building that has been transformed into a cultural hub. Throughout its network of exhibition spaces, 180 supports new and emerging artistic talent and has commissioned new works by artists such as Ryoji Ikeda, Es Devlin, Hito Steyerl, Kahlil Joseph, United Visual Artists, Caterina Barbieri, Jenn Nkiru Gabriel Moses, Julianknxx and Universal Everything.
The most recent 180 Studios exhibition Broken Spectre by Richard Mosse was a critically acclaimed sensation with five-star reviews across the broadsheet press. Previous group show Future Shock (2022) featured leading international artists working at the apex of audio-visual technology. Other exhibitions include: Lux (2021-22), Ryoji Ikeda (2021), The French Dispatch (2021), Transformer: A Rebirth of Wonder (2019), Other Spaces (2019), Strange Days: Memories of the Future (2018), Everything at Once (2017) and The Infinite Mix (2016).
As well as 180 Studios, 180 The Strand is also home to a network of broadcast studios and creatives, restaurants such as Toklas and Ikoyi, independent arts bookshop Reference Point and London’s flagship Soho Works and 180 House.
