London’s Lost in Light immersive art installation has big Close Encounters energy

Remember that bit in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind when the giant alien mothership starts communicating with the collected human masses by blasting out musical tones and flashing lights every colour of the rainbow? Want to experience it for yourself?

Then the closest encounter you’ll probably get this side of Area 51 is to take a trip to the new Lost In Light immersive art exhibition in London’s Shoreditch.

Squidsoup, the innovative art-and-music collective responsible for Four Tet’s dazzling Alexandra Palace gig lighting back in 2019, have taken over three storeys of what used to be a squat rave venue in the East End to house five of their mesmerising installations.

Installation pieces titled Circular Echoes, Infinite, Three Volumes, Sola, and Submergence turn the 30,000 square-foot gallery space into a “breathing artwork”, as pulsing lights sync with soundscapes both soothing and disorientating.

It’s perfect fodder for the ‘gram, but a deeply memorable experience too — show highlight, the towering Sola, lures you into a false sense of calm with its twinkling tones and runs of Tetris-like block lights, before literally dazzling you with a Hans Zimmer style sonic roar and an eruption of light bright enough to herald in World War 3. You’ll be excused for wearing your sunshades indoors.

Lost In Light is open now, and runs until January 5th. Regular tickets cost £23, kids for £12, students get in for £15, and family tickets are available, too. You’ll find it at 118 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3JP — a short walk from Old Street tube station and Shoreditch High Street overground.

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