Bathing in sci-fi in a London underground car park

Published 10 December 2016 by Elsa Ferreira

A hundred artists explore the themes of science fiction and space with a DIY and dystopian aesthetic inside a car park in London. Pictures of “Big Deal No 7”, an exhibition at Q-Park in Whitcomb Street.

London, from our correspondent

For the past ten years, Vanya Balogh has been organizing exhibitions in rather unconventional spaces. For the seventh Big Deal exhibition, around the themes of space and science fiction, the Croatian artist and curator has invested a car park.

“Big Deal is a project that we started in 2008 during the economic crash,” he says. “We needed that kind of project for experimentation.” Over the parking lot’s four floors and 12,000m2 of the parking lot, some one hundred artists exhibit immersive visual works and installations, the fruit of a “spontaneous exploration” of the sci-fi theme. “We are not here to have something pristine, perfect. Some works are not even finished. What I want to see are the guts of the artist.”

This edition of Big Deal will also be the last one, announces Balogh. “I feel that something happened this year, a political, cultural change, the death of many major artists.” A few days after the death of David Bowie, listening to Ziggy Stardust, he decided on the 2016 theme. “We live in an apocalyptic time, and we all have to pay attention,” he warns. What does sci-fi tell us about our present? Below, a visit through images, somewhere between retro future and dystopian present.

“Surviving Time Vacuum”

 

First stop of Big Deal No 7, “Surviving Time Vacuum”, an artificial sun powered by cycling by Time Elective Group, students group from Royal College of Art. #Bigdeal #exhibition #carpark #London #scifi #London

Une vidéo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 8h55 PST

Smells like rotting bodies

 

Looks like rotting bodies. Smells like rotting bodies. An immersive and nightmarish installation by Alina Gavrielatos. #Bigdeal #London #exhibition #carpark #scifi #dystopia @makeryfr

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 8h43 PST

Tweet chaos

 

Phillip Raymond Goodman wants you to wear the masks, tweet it to @phillipdgmn and to hail chaos. Let’s try…

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 8h25 PST

Time for a bomb?

 

“When can we launch, Little Boy ?”, by Miyuki Kasahara. 9 missiles for the 9 countries that officially have nuclear weapons. “Little Boy” was the codename for the type of atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 1945. #Bigdeal #carpark #scifi #nuclear #weapon #London @makeryfr

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 8h18 PST

Into the womb

 

Immersion in the “Womb”, installation by Royal College or Art students. #Bigdeal #scifi #carpark #London #RCA @makeryfr

Une vidéo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 7h58 PST

Lots of space to sell

 

A friendly reminder that space is for sale by punk artist Spizz. One of his greatest hits is “Where’s Captain Kirk ?” and he recently released a new single, “City of Eyes”, about CCTV surveillance and Facebook stalking. #Bigdeal #scifi #punk #surveillance #SpaceForSale #carpark #London @makeryfr

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 7h53 PST

Hello my alien friend

 

An army of colourful and (almost) friendly alien by artist and illustrator Mark Wigan. #Bigdeal #scifi #carpark #London

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 7h30 PST

The “Guernica” of the future

 

A painting signed Picasso (but not really by Picasso). A sci fi and humouristic version of Guernica where astronauts are pulling the alien’s testicles, by French artist Pascal Rousson. #Bigdeal #scifi #carpark #London @makeryfr

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 7h27 PST

The worst of the “Brave new world”

 

An installation by two Royal College of Art students Jennifer Kidd and Olivia Sullivan based on Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave new world”. Here the artists suggest that the drug ‘soma’, a pill that sedates its user and a controlling tool for the government, is made from foetuses that are rejected due to their imperfections and inability to be classed. #scifi #AldousHuxley # bigdeal #carpark #London #dystopia

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 7h00 PST

Me, myself and my clone

 

A mirror without reflect but a camera instead gives a strange feeling of duality. In the next door booth, a stranger’s reflect is being captured and transmitted to my screen. “Same, same but different” is an installation from Royal College of Art students, inspired by the eponym sci fi movie, and gives a hint of how “we might feel in an imaginary world of human clones”. #Bigdeal #exhibition #carpark #scifi #London

Une photo publiée par Elsa Ferreira (@elsa_ferreira_g) le 9 Déc. 2016 à 6h36 PST

 

“Big Deal No 7”, Space 2016, Q-Park, 39-41 Whitcomb Street, WC2 7DT, London, until December 10, visit by appointment (contact by e-mail)

The “Big Deal” exhibitions website