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HARRY MEADLEY
Paradise Row Gallery
74a Newman Street
London W1T 3DB
November 8 – December 14
The Basement at Paradise Row presents LEVEL 1, a solo exhibition of works by Leeds based artist Harry Meadley.
Appropriating the traditional computer game format of ‘levels’, this is the first in an intended series of exhibitions by the artist that invites the viewer to assume the role of a player. Devised using a narrative structure akin to that of a computer game, effort may be required from the player in order to yield results.
Covered in large format digitally printed vinyl, the walls reproduce textures from the first room from the initial level of the 1992 computer game Wolfenstein 3D. A game often credited as the original ‘first-person shooter’, a genre in which you assume the point-of-view of the main character. This aims to provide the backdrop for a collection of puzzles, items, secrets, hints and trophies.
Meadley’s practice challenges notions of authorship, value and production. Often self-referential, Meadley employs playful modes of exploration to reflect on the nature of artworks, the art system and his place as an artist within it.
Each week during the exhibition a ‘mystery shopper’ will visit the gallery and grade their experience against a set of criteria set by the artist and curator that will be fed back into the exhibition. These individuals will be unknown to the gallery and could be anyone.
