Giles Walker's Peep Show arrives in Shoreditch • Inspiring City

Pole dancing robots, dancing for our pleasure, have been installed in Shoreditch. Featuring three robots. Two gyrate on a pole whilst one spins a set of decks. They have either a video camera or a megaphone for heads.

From kinetic sculptor Giles Walker, this is actually a unique opportunity to see his renowned 2008 piece ‘Peep Show‘. Created as a commentary on the culture of surveillance. It previously showcased at the ‘Trash City’ show at Glastonbury and as part of the ‘Decode – Digital Design Sensations‘ exhibition at the V&A.

PEEP SHOW BY GILES WALKER

Now gyrating in the window of Wieden & Kennedy on Hanbury Street. This is a piece of work brought to the area by the Ben Oakley Gallery. Working with Walker for the past year, they’ve been planning another kinetic sculpture but on a much larger scale. Called ‘MONSTER‘ this latest exhibition promises to be of intense proportions.

Following on from Walker’s most recent installation ‘The Last Supper‘ at The London Science Museum. “MONSTER” says Oakley, will be “an art experience to remember.” Installed within a Georgian Warehouse on the Thames, the plan is to build, fund and showcase the work in September 2019. It’ll be by far the biggest and most ambitious work of Walker’s to date.

KINETIC SCULPTURE

Incorporating a number of large-scale animatronic figures, 3 of which are 4.5 metres in height. These will be joined with furniture and choreographed into something resembling mechanical theatre. “It’s an idea that’s been bubbling away for the last couple of years and I think it’s finally ready to be put into production” says Walker. “It’ll be a totally immersive piece of art. You’ll be able to wander in and around it and interact with about sixteen different animatronic figures.”

MONSTER CAMPAIGN CROWDFUNDER

One of the animatronic figures which will be a part of ‘MONSTER’ can currently be seen in the Ben Oakley Gallery in Greenwich

In order to make it happen a crowd funding campaign has been launched. Indeed that’s the main reason that ‘Peep Show’ has been brought to the East End. It’s even one of the rewards on offer. An individual installation of what is a really quite a unique piece of kinetic art. Not that Oakley and Walker are resting on their laurels. A third of the sculptures for the exhibit are already in place but there is a lot more to do.

“We need your support to help this artist keep building his relevant, and often-controversial work” says Oakley. “The plan is to show it to as many people as possible for free”.

PEEP SHOW by Giles Walker was visited on 9 February 2019 and will be showing through the installation window at Wieden & Kennedy on Hanbury street in Shoreditch from 4-17 February 2019. The exhibit has co-coincided with the launch of the ‘Indiegogo’ crowd funding campaign which aims to fund Walker’s next installation ‘MONSTER’.