This Week: 22 – 28 October

22 October 2018 Billie Manning

It’s an exhibition extravaganza in London this week with shows including Anglo-Saxon history and reimagining classic portraits through a mobile lens…

Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs at The Peacock
Tap lovers will already be aware of Dein Perry’s multi award-winning production, but it’s worth a visit even if you aren’t a dedicated dance fan. Described as ‘part theatre, part rock concert and part construction site’, Tap Dogs offers a rambunctious night of dance rather far away from the idea of stuffy ballet shows or impenetrable contemporary that many have in their heads. There’s also live music to enjoy while you watch the stomping hordes. You might just find your foot tapping along.
 
Image: Sadlers Wells/Chris Richardson
 
Tap Dogs, 23 October - 10 November, The Peacock, WC2A 2HT
 
Jon Ronson's The Butterfly Effect at Leicester Square Theatre
 
Journalist Jon Ronson’s new show The Butterfly Effect tells the tale of free, easily-accessible porn on the internet through a chain of events that affect numerous people in a variety of ways. At first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that this may be an exposé on a seedy industry and the trouble it causes, but in reality it is a very human story – beginning with a teenage dream of using the web to share porn with the masses (the flap of the butterfly’s wing, if you will) and taking us through a chain reaction of events that affect numerous people in a variety of ways.

Image: Jon Ronson 

The Butterfly Effect, 23 - 27 October, Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Pl, London WC2H 7BX
 
 
ALL I KNOW IS WHAT’S ON THE INTERNET
 It’s a statement that’s true for pretty much everyone these days, All I Know Is What’s On The Internet. This new exhibition from The Photographers’ Gallery examines the power of the worldwide web in the multiplication and constant recirculation of images in a presentation of the work of 11 contemporary artists and collectives. Certain works draw specifically on the experiences of content moderators, click workers and Google Street View photographers, and invite visitors to consider their own position in the image flow. Covering a vast amount of ground, this’ll certinaly make you think next time you flip your camera to selfie mode.
 
Image: Stop the Algorithm © Stephanie Kneissl and Max Lackner, 2017
 
All I Know Is What’s On The Internet, 26 October 2018 - 24 February 2019, The Photographer’s Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies St, Soho W1F 7LW
 
Portr8’s Pop Up Gallery with Three UK
 Proving that we are indeed selfie-obsessed (even if that obsession involves wondering why we are so obsessed), a free pop up gallery showcasing a brand-new collection of art by Reuben Dangoor will be popping up in Soho Square this weekend, with classic portraits reimagined through a mobile lens. If you want to have a good laugh at Henry VIII making a duck-face at the camera, this one’s for you.
 
Image: Portr8
 
Portr8’s pop-up gallery, 26-27 October, 13 Soho Square, Soho, W1D 3QF
 
Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War at the British Library
The British Library is never one to do things by halves, so of course their new exhibition on the history, literature and culture of Anglo-Saxon England is the largest ever, spanning all six centuries from the eclipse of Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest. There will be a rare opportunity to view original Anglo-Saxon artefacts and texts, including the British Library’s trademark beautifully illuminated manuscripts.
 

 
Image: British Library via Facebook
 
Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, 19 October 2018 – 19 February 2019, The British Library, 96 Euston Rd, King’s Cross NW1 2DB
 
MHYSA at The Institute of Contemporary Art
London will be getting the Philadelphia treatment as US-based artist MHYSA presents a live audiovisual experience at The Institute of Contemporary Art this Tuesday. The audience will be taken on a journey through the inspirations and fantasies that have shaped the artist’s practice – from pop and poetic lyrics to gospel blues and black femme R&B divas. The show will open with sets by experimental dance DJ Cõvco, and audiovisual collaborators clubcouture.
 
Image: MHYSA/Naima Green

MHYSA, 23 October, Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, St. James's, SW1Y 5AH