Digital Revolution – Barbican

Described as “the most comprehensive presentation of digital creativity ever to be staged in the UK”, Digital Revolution, an immersive exhibition of art, design, film, music and videogames at the Barbican, is one of the big exhibitions of the summer. I visited on Saturday afternoon, and thankfully my Barbican membership allowed me free entry without having to wait for an available timeslot – a definite perk of membership!

There were three main sections to the exhibition. The first, which took up the whole of the Curve and several feet outside of it, was by far the largest. The second was a small, fenced-off area in which participants could play some indie computer games. The third was Umbrellium’s Assemblance, a laser room installed in the Pit Theatre. There were other little bits dotted around the Barbican too, such as electronic “pet snakes” as part of Minimaform’s Petting Zoo, and another installation off-site in the Bloomberg Space which I didn’t get round to visiting.

The first bit was great fun, and I think my dad and brother would have loved it. It contained lots of retro computer games, including those I remember, such as Tomb RaiderSuper Mario Bros and The Sims, and those that were before my time, like Pong and Tetris. I was sad not to see the NES classic Blades of Steel there, however!*

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The Sims

This nostalgic section was followed by some more modern developments in the field of technology, including some “birds” made from old mobile phones, and an installation by pop star will.i.am. There was also a selection of cutting-edge fashion, including a 3D-printed dress worn by – who else? – Lady Gaga.

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Birds of the future
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Lady Gaga’s printed dress
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will.i.am

If I have a criticism of this part of the exhibition, it would be that it was just so crowded. I understand that it was timed, and the Barbican have genuinely made an effort to control numbers. However, in an interactive exhibition such as this it can be very difficult to play that game or experience that technology without queuing for a while.

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Magically transformed into angels
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Pretty butterflies

The indie-gaming section would probably be of most interest to serious gamers. I had a go, and recognised one of the games – my housemates have been talking about it for ages. You play an official on the immigration desk of a totalitarian East European state, and you have to decide whether to let people into the country or not. It’s a brilliant idea, but I couldn’t play it for too long as it traumatised me!

The laser room was fun, but I got bored after a few minutes. The exhibition took me around an hour and a half to explore in total. However, I didn’t spend too long in any one place. I am sure that someone who was really passionate about gaming and technology would be able to easily spend half a day or more here.

 

*Amazing graphics. Awesome music. All your friends will want it!