Contemporary artist, Imbue will open his largest exhibition yet on July 4th, offering a glimpse of works you would normally find in The Louvre.
The exhibition, named Lost All Meaning, will feature a life size Renaissance sculpture digitally heisted from The Louvre. Antonio Corradini’s Femme voilée was secretly scanned by the artist during a visit to Paris and 3D printed in his studio over hundreds of hours. Concerned that he might be confronted by museum security, Imbue was surprised when his fifteen minute scan of the 18th century statue went unnoticed.
“I remember when you weren’t allowed to take photos in museums, and now I’ve wandered into the world’s most famous museum and 3D scanned an entire sculpture without anyone batting an eyelid.”
Imbue
The show also features a reworking of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, born out of The Louvre’s recent plan to address problems with overcrowding when viewing the world’s most famous painting in person; usually only visible through a sea of iPhones.
The exhibition also explores artificial intelligence and will display the remnants of an Amazon Alexa in a blender alongside a video of the ‘experiment’, where the blender is connected to a smart plug triggered with the voice command of “Alexa, turn on the blender”; a comment on the increasing amount of control we give to smart tech and AI.
A robot can also be viewed live typing the modified phrase ‘AI work and no play makes Jack a dull bot.’ The original line will be familiar to fans of Kubrick’s The Shining and looks at our use of technology and AI to carry out more jobs than ever, even the creative ones that we’re supposed to enjoy.
This latest exhibition from Imbue plays with themes including science, AI and religion; with art hidden inside pharmaceutical packaging dispensed from vending machines, and the opportunity to ask ‘Godle’ questions and receive divine guidance. When asked about the inspiration for the piece, he said:
“Not many people still go to confession at church, but we tell Google everything.”
Following his last solo exhibition in London in 2023, Imbue has chosen to host these never seen before installations in Birmingham’s creative quarter with its abundance of industrial spaces. Lost All Meaning will make you question your everyday reality.
Imbue, Lost All Meaning July 4th – July 10th 104 – 108 Floodgate Street, Birmingham, B5 5SR.
Entry is free and open to all. Opening hours: July 4th from 6PM onwards. All other dates: 11AM – 4PM.
All Photos: Imbue Studio June 25th – www.thombartley.com
About Imbue: Imbue has been hailed as a ‘brilliant British artist’ on Forbes.com and his past exhibitions have featured in The Independent, London Evening Standard and Artnet. The artist’s bleeding cash machine installation was displayed at Saatchi Gallery this year following the piece garnering 3 million views on social media. Imbue’s work often features familiar icons with a characteristic twist and the intermingling of science and religion. @imbue
