In early 2017 James Lavelle will take over Lazarides Rathbone with ‘Daydreaming with Unkle Presents…The Road… Soho’: a unique and interactive exploration of his British music collective Unkle. The show will explore music, art and street culture from a host of talented artists and collaborators, including Futura, 3D from Massive Attack, Doug Foster, Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones and Dexter Navy.
In anticipation of Unkle’s forthcoming album The Road, this immersive show celebrates 25 years of UNKLE by going back to its roots in Soho, London’s hub of counter culture. The show will include old and new paintings, installations and special edition prints from a variety of artists and collaborators, as well as present a series of events including talks and film screenings.
‘Daydreaming with Unkle Presents…The Road: Soho’ goes back to where it all began; Steve Lazarides, founder of Lazarides Gallery, was the first photographer to work with James Lavelle on Unkle and Mo’Wax, while Mo’Wax’s record label offices were situated on nearby Mortimer Street.
There will be new music releases from forthcoming Unkle album The Road, Unkle re-issues and a pop-up store featuring rare counter cultural artefacts from Hysteric Glamour, Neighborhood, Undercover, as well as Casey (Kanye West’s designer), as well as vintage collectible archival pieces from Nike, Converse and Medicom Toys.
The exhibition also features the premiere of a new Virtual Reality installation captured from ‘Daydreaming With…Stanley Kubrick’, and includes a unique opportunity to ‘step inside’ Doug Foster’s mesmerising ‘Beyond the Infinite’ installation to experience art at it’s most immersive.
James Lavelle says: “Unkle has always been a multi-sensory creative project, ranging from genre-defining music to cutting-edge visual art. It therefore feels incredibly fitting to celebrate Unkle’s past, present and future in Soho, where it all began, with an immersive show at the much-loved Lazarides gallery. The exhibition is a collaboration between a number of very talented artists, presenting everything from paintings, videos, artefacts and film screenings; this is the definitive Unkle experience. I look forward to welcoming visitors to daydream with us.”
James Lavelle (b. 1974) is an electronic musician and founder of music collective Unkle and the Mo’Wax record label. He has worked as a producer, recording artist, and has curated exhibitions at Somerset House and the ICA. In 2014 Lavelle curated the 21st edition of Meltdown on London’s South Bank, following in the footsteps of some of music’s biggest names, including David Bowie and Patti Smith.
Obsessed with the collision of music, fashion and art, James co-founded the celebrated ‘Daydreaming with…’ exhibition series in 2010. ‘Daydreaming with…. James Lavelle’ was first launched at London’s Haunch of Venison gallery and produced collaborations with celebrated artists like Jonathan Glazer, 3D, Jonas Burget, Doug Foster and Nathan Coley. ‘Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick’ at Somerset House in 2016 attracted over 30,000 visitors and brought together a total of 69 artists, filmlmmakers and musicians inspired by the work of Stanley Kubrick, including Sarah Lucas, Daft Punk, Marc Quinn, The Clash and Doug Aitken.
Everything James Lavelle has created and initiated has been driven by the same irrepressible sense of curiosity and an incorruptible willingness to take risks. James Lavelle has worked with some of the most defining personalities of the 90’s including DJ Shadow, Radiohead, Carl Craig, Massive Attack, Goldie. Through Mo’Wax, James Lavelle shaped the landscape of dance music, with Mo’Wax’s influence still resonating in music and street culture today.