Rebecca Allen – A Tangle of Mind & Matter
Runs: 2 March – 30 April 2023
Modal at the School of Digital Arts (SODA)
Private View: 1 March, 6pm
Opening Times: Monday to Friday: 12-5pm / Saturday 11am – 4pm
From the earliest days of computer generated graphics in the 1970s, Rebecca Allen has shaped how we experience the world through technology – from popular culture to augmented reality. This exhibition brings together pioneering artworks from half a century of innovation, to inspire the digital creatives of tomorrow.
Through her career, Rebecca Allen has experimented with a space where organic and digital meet, her art combining imagination and ability to expand how we see the world. This exhibition shares pioneering work from the 1980s to the present day, exploring the artistic influences that have been present in Allen’s work.
As creative technologists reshape our understanding of art, politics, and social life, the pioneering work of Rebecca Allen offers perspective and inspiration for the journey ahead.
There is a fascination with the movements of human and natural forms – from ballet dancers to flocks of birds – and their translation to the digital. There is a passion for the aesthetics of a living world rendered in a virtual space, for the questions this raises on the future of the body, and ultimately, of the possibilities of human experience.
Works on Display
The Tangle of Mind and Matter, 2017
Still from VR Installation. Courtesy of the artist copy.
Kraftwerk Portrait, 1986.
Still from Video Courtesy of the artist
Rebecca Allen created all visual material for the 1986 album Electric Cafe by the German group Kraftwerk, including the classic, award-winning music video, Musique Non Stop.
Laberint, 1992.
Still from Video. Courtesy of the artist.
Inside, 2016.
Still from VR Installation. Courtesy of the artist.
Inside, woman looking, 2016.
Still from VR Installation. Courtesy of the artist.
The Observer, 1999-2019.
Curatorial Team
Curated by Dr. Valentino Catricalà
Co-Curated by Thomas Dukes
With gratefully acknowledged support from interns, Birce Cennetoglu & Rowan Bell, and technical specialists from SODA and the Manchester School of Art.
Credits
Rebecca Allen is supported by Zelda Art and This is Arcade.
Visit Us
Modal is located just off Oxford Road at the School of Digital Arts and its exhibitions are free and open to all.