This catalogue accompanied the 2018 exhibition Langlands & Bell Internet Giants : Masters of the Universe .
The exhibition by British artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell, marked the 40th year of their artistic partnership which started in 1978 while studying Fine Art at Middlesex Polytechnic, London.
Featuring the iconic architecture of the global technology companies such as Apple, Facebook, Alibaba and Google, the exhibition included a series of relief sculptures, installations, digital animations and portraits that explore the increasingly profound influence they have on our lives in the age of ‘Big Data’.
A monumental new wall painting, Your Thoughts Construct Patterns Like Scaffolding In Your Mind (2018), is based on a quote by Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, and is produced in collaboration with Birmingham based street artist Dan Newso. The exhibition also includes a series of portraits of the ‘Masters of the Universe’, founders and CEOs of the Internet Giants including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and Steve Jobs appearing as religious icons for the digital age accompanied by their own words: “I’m trying to make the world a more open place” (Mark Zuckerberg).
The catalogue includes an essay by historian and critic Professor Anthony Vidler and an interview with the artists by Dr Hans-Michael Herzog.
Paperback, full colour illustrations, including installation images of the work at Ikon Gallery.
