__L A U N C H : July 4th 2013
__V E N U E : Rich Mix, Shoreditch, London.
__F E A T U R I N G : The Soul In The Machine Collection, Mohammed Ali AKA Aerosol Arabic, David J Pugilist
__P H O T O G R A P H Y : N Jamal Design.
__S U M M A R Y : Following the success of Khyle Alexander Raja's first exhibition at Birmingham's Hubb Gallery in 2012, Soul In The Machine comes to London, in Shoreditch's vibrant community arts space; T H E R I C H M I X . This stunning visual arts exhibition explores the future of mankind, told through a world of science fiction, massive machines and radical architectures . Launched on July 4th, Khyle joined forces with world renowned graffiti artist Mohammed Ali aka Aerosol Arabic, and nationally acclaimed spoken word poet David J Pugilist, in a dramatic live arts performance immersed in surreal soundscapes.
A world of stunning science fiction, vast architectures and stations of the Soul.
Each drawing a window onto vast, detailed landscapes of machines.
Manpreet Darroch of the Melting Pot Podcast interviewing Aerosol Arabic / Mohammed Ali
Manpreet Darroch of the Melting Pot Podcast interviews Khyle Alexander Raja within the exhibition for the latest podcast on inspirational voices.
Soul City Arts's Sunney Sharma & David J Pugilist explore the drawings.
Manpreet & Khyle discuss Soul In The Machine
Discussion and debate over the artificial, natural and spiritual at Soul In The Machine.
A series of pen & ink rotering drawings on ivory mountboard, by Khyle Alexander Raja, begin the exhibition. Each drawing represents weeks of meticulous work.
'The Origin' is one of six drawings in the exhibition accompanied by spoken word poetry, written and performed by David J Pugilist, as an artistic response to the work. David has developed his own narrative alongside these key drawings, further immersing the viewer into this stunning new world.
Aerosol Arabic / Mohammed Ali introduces the audience of the private view and tour to the work of Soul City Arts.
Khyle Alexander Raja delves into 'The Desert', a depiction of our future world as a giant s & complex system of machines.
Khyle Alexander Raja explaining the significance of 'The Evident' & 'The Immanent', two attributes of The Creator, and two powerful forces within this collection.
Mohammed Ali introduces the live arts performance as the exhibition launch fully opens; a confluence of pens, aerosols, poetry and digital projection & drawing.
We begin our journey with a visual sequence of landscapes overlaid with the sketches of Khyle Alexander Raja and the voice of David J Pugilist as the Voice of the Machine.
Aerosol Arabic / Mohammed Ali begins by layering our skyline.
Khyle Alexander Raja enters frame to articulate a futuristic city similar to those of common future utopias.
Soundscapes and the voice of David J Pugilist surround the audience as the drawing unfolds.
A city emerges...
Aerosol Arabic / Mohammed Ali defines a stark, black frame across our landscape.
A final artisit reversal sees Mohammed Ali resume control of the digital projections, with Khyle adding glowing red details to the foreboding window frame.
An ominous, dark frame dominates the foreground as the utopia quickly assumes a dystopian edge.
We set the scene for Soul In The Machine.
The collaborative piece; intended to alert us to the possible traps within the technological utopias we are promised, unless we take time to reflect on our complex relationships with our machines.
Pens, macbooks & wacom digital tablets on stage with Khyle Alexander Raja.
Guests mingle and explore the drawings and poetry.
An enormous wall spanning piece, first created as a visual arts installation in Khyle's first exhbition at gallery in Birmingham. The collaboration was reproduced from hi resolution images for this exhibition.
A group discussion over the theoretical foundations of 'The Gateways', representing the choices of Humanity.
TV media crews filming at Soul In The Machine.
'Still Portal', a unique drawing presented on brushed aluminium.
'The Laboratory' (left) and two collaborative canvases (right) , 'The Evident' & 'The Immanent', created by Khyle Alexander Raja & Aerosol Arabic / Mohammed Ali.
The Crucibles', one of the most popular pieces in the collection, exploring the emergence of Revelation in the technological world.
At the edges of our spiritual expression, can we use science fiction to come closer to our Creator?
Young patrons getting up close and personal with the performance piece.
Many incredible artists made it to the launch, across digital, aural and visual mediums.
Immersing you in vast, visual landscapes of technology, and lucid poetry journeying from our Origins to the unknown. All ages and backgrounds came to enjoy the artwork, the environment, and a dynamic live arts in East London's Rich Mix gallery
Let it never be said that Soul In The Machine is a rejection of technology, but a warning, a call for reflection, and a celebration of how beautiful our technological world could be when enhanced with the spiritual.