The group exhibition Adventitious Encounters, presented 20 emerging and established contemporary artists, was held on the sky-roof of the historic and Whiteleys Shopping Centre which was soon to be demolished – a space rarely open to the public. The exhibition explored the interwoven processes of human production and consumption in response to nature as an object of desire; a nature of which we are an intrinsic part. Nature’ is no longer pristine, we are now living through the Anthropocene, a time when human activity has begun contributing to failing ecosystems, rising sea-levels and climatic change. In turn, these negative effects are driving mass human migration; as a species, we are forced to re-think historical assumptions and the ways in which we register these dramatic changes, which are not only affecting the whole of humanity, but all existing planetary life. With respect to the building’s heritage, the exhibition invited the audience to experience multi-sensory stimulation, akin to William Whiteleys’s unrealised botanical vision. In its original design, the uppermost floor of the department store was organised around a dominant octagonal glass dome. This dome was envisaged to be at the center of an elegant garden, flanked by water ponds and reminiscent of classical orangeries; a distillation of nature in miniature.

The exhibition featured a collaborative installation with Conservatory Archives and a programme of performances by Joshua Leon and Himali Singh Soin. Participating Artists: Volkan Aslan, Augustine Carr, Alex Flick, Mustafa Hulusi, Soojin Kang, Radhika Khimji, Anton Lapov, Joshua Leon, Kate McMillan, Sarah Meyohas, Suzanne Moxhay, Goia Mujalli, Alexandre Mussard, Samuel Padfield, Paloma Proudfoot, Anna Skladmann, Magda Skupinska, Himali Singh Soin, Sigrid Viir and Chloe Wise.

Photo Credit: Ben Peter Catchpole