The London Dare

The London Dare made the city the opening chapter of an exhibition. In June 2013, DALeast painted seven walls across London for a project curated by Rom Levy. Participants used online clues and social media to locate the works; the seventh remained hidden inside the exhibition venue until the opening.

The first fifty people to find all seven walls received a limited-edition print. More than four hundred participants registered within the first day, turning the search into a collective experience that moved between the street and the internet before converging on the gallery.

DALeast’s images are built from fine, fractured lines that suggest forms assembling and dispersing at the same time. Animals and figures appear to emerge from clusters of metallic-looking strands, with colour and contrast heightening the sensation of movement. Seeing that language across several walls made the discovery of each work part of a larger sequence.

The final exhibition brought the search to a physical conclusion. Curating here involved the route, the clues, the anticipation and the audience’s participation as much as the objects on display, connecting an artist’s elusive public presence with the social experience of an opening.