Nøtel

Opening Thursday 19 July 2018, 6-9pm

Exhibition runs Friday 20 July – Saturday 1 September

Nøtel is an immersive, two-chapter, multimedia installation by London-based artist Lawrence Lek created in collaboration with electronic musician Kode9 (Steve Goodman). The project installation transforms the gallery into a marketing suite for the fictional Nøtel Corporation, advertising future plans for a global expansion of the hotel chain. The exhibition uses similar conventions of property marketing, including a video trailer and virtual reality, to conjure an image of a future luxury hotel as if it will be developed on site.

Set in a future London, where elite society no longer requires permanent housing but rather stays in temporary accommodation, Nøtel speculates on critical issues surrounding the newly-regenerated areas of the capital, including London City Island, where the exhibition’s first iteration is situated. Nøtel uses speculative architecture as a tool to imagine the future of these developments, and to address ideas around the politics of labour and an automated workforce, juxtaposed with notions of alienation and belonging.

Nøtel proposes a globalised, standardised way of living. Its alternative approach would alleviate the overpopulation of cities and the struggles of obtaining property, promoting an economic model which saves money by replacing humans with AI to complete menial tasks. Nøtel exposes the fine line between cost-efficiency and hyper-luxury – after checking in at the Nøtel, residents are left alone, broaching the question of hypothetical social-realism and what luxurious lifestyle means for future generations. The site-specific installation relates to the rapid transformation of a post-industrial area into a new vision of urban living. The project was co-commissioned with Stroom Den Haag in the Netherlands, where the project will relocate in September 2018.

The project continues Lek's exploration of architectural visualisation as a means to examine the critical and aesthetic issues surrounding urban development. The installation enables visitors to reflect on how digital rendering can manipulate the public's perception of space.