The b-uncut blog

Boom Boom Boom, Shake the Room

// February 16th, 2010 // b-scene // Lawrence

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I walked right past the Faile and Bast exhibition thinking it was a trendy retro arcade. They have boom-bastically-re-booted in a new collaborative project named ‘The Faile and Bast Deluxx Fluxx Arcade’.

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There’s a weighty neon surge from the front window. It gives a fly style to the amusement inside. Crossing the threshold is like entering a personal Faile and Bast dimension. Their 80′s inspired work has exploded over every surface including their custom video games. You are immersed in arcade nostalgia and bespoke tokens are on sale from a classic, note-swallowing dispenser.
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As you walk through the corridor of Space Invader sounds you reach a staircase where a quasar glow expands from below. Take the staircase and teleport into the 2nd graphic drenching dimension. Now it’s hyper dunking waiting to greet you. Without the first floor warm up I think my brain would have hemorrhaged fluorescence down here! A UV brilliance envelops you. The haunts of 80′s populist culture have been injected with dayglow. There are two vivid fußball tables continuing the visitor interaction, wall to wall posters, spray-painted floor tiles and an 80′s rave mannequin in the corner. It is off the hook.

Their über cool collaboration has created something magically saturating.

If you can make it to Greek Street by the 27th March, Lazarides also have a ten year retrospective of FAILE’s work just round the corner at their Rathbone Place gallery. This will give you a better idea of how they made it to this point and is also full of layers, fun and mania. Faile and Bast have brought a rare treat to London and I hope they continue this explosive approach to exhibiting. Possibly over the canals of Amsterdam or fluttering through Time Square.