Gray Wielebinski’s ICA Show: Sci-Fi Meets Art in London

Explore Gray Wielebinski’s unique art show ‘The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low’ at the ICA London, blending sci-fi with contemporary issues.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Gray Wielebinski's exhibition 'The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low' combines sci-fi themes with political and environmental issues.

The show features interactive installations and artwork that challenge traditional power structures and envision a post-apocalyptic future.

Wielebinski's work incorporates elements of queerness and intimacy, proposing a new model of community in times of crisis.

A Sci-Fi Journey Through Art at the Heart of London

You step into the Institute of the Contemporary Arts in London, and you find yourself in the middle of Gray Wielebinski’s first solo show. It’s like walking into a story where the future meets today’s world. The show’s name, ‘The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low,’ comes from a famous science fiction writer, Samuel R Delaney, and it sets the tone for an adventure in art.

The exhibition sits near places of power like Buckingham Palace, and it’s all about how those in charge might be leading us toward a world’s end. Wielebinski’s art makes you think about how the world could change suddenly. It’s like a secret hideout where people can come to think about what might happen if the world as we know it stopped being safe. The artist believes that these private spaces can bring people together rather than keep them apart.

Delving into Power and Hope Through Canvas and Sound

Wielebinski doesn’t shy away from big ideas. His work looks at how power has been held by men for too long, and he turns that idea on its head. He’s planning more shows in cities like Milan and LA, where he’ll keep questioning things we often take for granted, like how we’re raised and what we want from life. Even in dark times, the artist suggests that when we come together, there’s a light of hope.

One piece that stands out is a sound installation. It fills the room with the sound of cicadas, which might remind you of an alarm. This noise takes Wielebinski back to his childhood days in Dallas. Right where you walk in, there’s a scoreboard that seems to be counting down to something unknown. It’s a puzzle, much like the games people play in life.

A Space Where Sci-Fi Meets Queer Imagination

In this exhibit, Wielebinski shows how stories about the future have always had space for different kinds of love and identity. The show features bright images of suns that might make you think of happy summer times or maybe the scary idea of a nuclear disaster. It’s up to you to decide. These pictures hint at a famous movie, Querelle, which is all about dreams and desire.

At the heart of the exhibition is a space that feels like a secret gathering spot for friends, shaped like a warning sign but also like a place to share stories. It’s about the people we choose to be with, especially when everything else is falling apart. Wielebinski’s work is a powerful call to dream of what could be, even when the world is telling us it’s all coming to an end.

This thought-provoking show, ‘The Red Sun is High, the Blue Low,’ will be open from September 20 to December 23, 2023, at the ICA in London. It’s a place where art meets the big questions of our time, and it’s an experience you won’t want to miss.