Current exhibition
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dmstfctn
Big things coming
Opens 2 July from 6:30
3 July - 2 August 2026
Curated by Rebecca Edwards and Chemist Gallery
Supported by Arts Council England
Curated by Rebecca Edwards and Chemist Gallery
Supported by Arts Council England
Big things coming tells the story of Degular, who works as a data-labeller by day and rapper by night. Trained to describe the world through objective, manageable language, Degular struggles when confronted with something that cannot be labelled, categorised or explained. As its language begins to fail, a new form of expression emerges.
The exhibition combines a live animation running in a game engine, theatrics and music, to explore AI language as a calculated language resembling but fundamentally different to that of humans.
The work is set in a partial simulation of the Docklands area of south east London, with Canary Wharf always present in the background but never reachable. Eight locations were recreated by dmstfctn using a game engine, including Canary Wharf, the O2 and Tate Lyle alongside the river Thames, and the George Tavern. The resulting city is approximated and lossy, made up of invisible walls and void around the edges as if compressed in an LLM from 2003 ("sino grime, emirates airline"). Characters are animated in real-time in each location alongside a soundtrack with recorded voiceover and rapping. The game engine triggers a fog machine in the gallery at key moments.
Big things coming is part three of GOD MODE, a trilogy of real-time immersive artworks about anomalous AI created with game engines. The cinematic universe of these works draws from the artists' ongoing research archive of real-world examples of anomalies in AI systems.
The exhibition combines a live animation running in a game engine, theatrics and music, to explore AI language as a calculated language resembling but fundamentally different to that of humans.
The work is set in a partial simulation of the Docklands area of south east London, with Canary Wharf always present in the background but never reachable. Eight locations were recreated by dmstfctn using a game engine, including Canary Wharf, the O2 and Tate Lyle alongside the river Thames, and the George Tavern. The resulting city is approximated and lossy, made up of invisible walls and void around the edges as if compressed in an LLM from 2003 ("sino grime, emirates airline"). Characters are animated in real-time in each location alongside a soundtrack with recorded voiceover and rapping. The game engine triggers a fog machine in the gallery at key moments.
Big things coming is part three of GOD MODE, a trilogy of real-time immersive artworks about anomalous AI created with game engines. The cinematic universe of these works draws from the artists' ongoing research archive of real-world examples of anomalies in AI systems.
As part of our public program for this exhibition, we will hold a reading group led by dmstfctn on 7 July, 7-8:30pm. RSVP here.
Vocalist: Jawnino
Music: Tryce
Narrator: Zia Ahmed
Additional development: Jenn Leung
Research Assistance: Alasdair Milne
dmstfctn is a London-based artist duo exploring complex systems through simulation, fiction, and experience. Their immersive performances, video installations and video games demystify systems by replicating and exploring them together with audiences, and 're-mystify' them by building new stories and worlds on top of them.
Since 2018, dmstfctn have performed and exhibited internationally at institutions including Serpentine, Berghain, HKW, SOLO Contemporary, and at festivals such as Unsound, transmediale, CTM. They have collaborated with leading scientific institutions, including The Alan Turing Institute and Supercomputer Leonardo. Since 2025, dmstfctn are n-Space fellows at Somerset House Studios.
Chemist Gallery
57 Loampit Hill
SE13 7SZ London, UK
57 Loampit Hill
SE13 7SZ London, UK
Exhibition Hours
Fri-Sat 12:00-18:00
Sun 12:00-16:00
Fri-Sat 12:00-18:00
Sun 12:00-16:00