Strangers – Tom Webb

On the 18th July Tom Webb presents his debut exhibition at the Woodbury House Gallery in Soho, London. Having harnessed and developed skills in coding and technology, and notably featuring in WIRED magazine this year, STRANGERS promises to showcase a modern futurist style.

Webb has used his technological prowess and artistic vision to produce installations designed as a commentary on the perceived value of human life, in the binary scope of a computer. All the pieces feature real data on real humans, used to exemplify the ease by which data can be obtained. Amongst a political climate that is focused so heavily on privacy, Webb hopes to show rather than tell how easily our data can be acquired.

The exhibition is made up of a selection of real-time installations that encapsulate a future society in the technological scope. Through the application of coding and technological vision, Webb has produced pieces that have a range of themes attached to them. From Twitter patterns to mortality rates Webb’s exhibits are a subtle yet powerful collection, with the ever-present undertones of a society engrossed in the use of its technology. A victim of the technological revolution himself, Webb has used his experiences to comment on the priorities and habits a of society that often looks through the lens of quantitative data, much like the machines that power STRANGERS itself.

STRANGERS presents one of the first instances of real data being used and updated in real-time, data that has been extrapolated by Webb and presented in the form of a harrowing prediction on the future of our society. Webb’s pieces are a showcase of an ever-changing environment, fuelled by the sporadic ebb and flow of social attention and interaction. Conceptually, the real data and real-time updates of Webb’s work are the first of its kind. The use of binary code to introduce cultural themes on a real-time basis is seldom seen, something that will without doubt spark controversy amongst attendees.

The 18th of July will mark a significant turning-point in the perception of technological advancement to all those who attend at the Woodbury House Gallery. These futurist pieces carry a shuddering irony, as the vehicle for communication could be argued as a significant propagator of the very issues they hope to convey. Webb’s exhibition will without doubt illicit responses of introspection and cultural shock for attendees, displayed through the stained glass that is all too relevant in today’s technological climate.

Tom Webb presents his debut exhibition STRANGERS on the 18th of July at the Woodbury House Gallery in Soho, London.