It takes a curious eye to find beauty in the banal, and few are more curious than Swiss-American artist Christian Marclay. His latest work, a series of six new videos due to be unveiled at White Cube Bermondsey later this week, explore precisely that: the brilliantly boring artefacts that litter London’s streets.
On view from 5 until 10 October to coincide with Frieze Art Fair, these looped works will be screened on the façade of the iconic gallery. Each animation hones in on a different object that is routinely discarded. Here, everything from cigarette butts, to cotton buds and straws star in static images that are then stitched together to form frenetic video animations, by way of Eadweard Muybridge’s zoetrope.
'Bottle Caps', 2016. Courtesy of White Cube
Marclay has collated thousands of photographs taken during daily walks in the city, weaving a digital tapestry from these found objects. 'I was thinking of the Bermondsey community for this projection,’ explains the London-based artist. ‘They are my main audience for this project and that's why I wanted to present a different work each night for a week. Every evening when walking back home, they will encounter a new work.’ It’s street photography – but not as we normally know it.
Like specimens being examined underneath a microscope, they metamorphose in shape (and colour) like living cells, dictated by the sequences Marclay has orchestrated. Silent and enlarged ‘to architectural proportions’, the videos take on a hypnotic, even strangely therapeutic, quality.
'It’s fun to be able to bring back what I found on the streets back to the street,’ the artist says. ‘The large wall used for the projection will be visible by passersby; they don’t have to enter the gallery. The gritty character of the photographs fits the gritty context of the streets – there’s a nice symbiosis.'
Still from Lids and Straws (One Minute), 2016
Still from Bottle Caps, 2016
Still from Lids and Straws (One Minute), 2016
Still from Lids and Straws (One Minute), 2016
Still from Bottle Caps, 2016
INFORMATION
’Christian Marclay: Outdoor Projection’ is on view from 5–10 October. For more information, visit the White Cube website
Artwork imagery courtesy of White Cube
ADDRESS
White Cube Bermondsey
144–152 Bermondsey Street
London, SE1 3TQ
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekMuch of our team was in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design this week. For those left basking in the London heatwave, it was architecture workshops, photography exhibitions and two very different performances: ballet and Britpop
-
The best bars in London for bartending greatnessFrom chic hotel cocktail classics to game-changing flavour combinations, our resident drinks correspondent, Neil Ridley, explores ten of the best bars in London
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* teamFrom 20-23 June, Milan Fashion Week Men’s arrives in the Italian fashion capital. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
London calling! Artists celebrate the city at Saatchi YatesLondon has long been an inspiration for both superstar artists and newer talent. Saatchi Yates gathers some of the best
-
Alexandra Metcalf creates an unsettling Victorian world in LondonAlexandra Metcalf turns The Perimeter into a alternate world in exhibition, 'Gaaaaaaasp'
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life storiesThe artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
-
Sexual health since 1987: archival LGBTQIA+ posters on show at Studio VoltaireA look back at how grassroots movements emphasised the need for effective sexual health for the LGBTQIA+ community with a host of playful and informative posters, now part of a London exhibition
-
Ten things to see at London Gallery WeekendAs 125 galleries across London take part from 6-8 June 2025, here are ten things not to miss, from David Hockney’s ‘Love’ series to Kayode Ojo’s look at the superficiality of taste
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
