The Social Paradox Street Art Exhibition
November 29, 2017, By Ramy Al-Kadhi, Co-Founder of Calio
During the period of November 23–26, we threw a Street Art Exhibition at Stolen Space Gallery, promoting the misuse of technology and social media. It might seem contradictory for a tech company to promote that social media and technology, which was developed to bring us closer together, is actually taking us further apart, but our purpose at Calio is to provide you with a technology that brings you closer together with friends and family.
We brought together the work of 10 of the world’s most prominent street artists, who all provided us with their own interpretation of The Social Paradox. This collaboration, curated by Street Art News, highlighted what we want our technology to achieve. We brought people together and we gave them an opportunity to reflect and discuss the theme that technology is taking us out of our own world, rather than helping us to live within it. By all means, we had an incredibly successful first event and the exclusive art on show really drove this message home to our audience.
MADSTEEZ — The WEENReaper
The Street Art showcased the dangers of excessive use of technology, particularly social media. The feature piece, a two and a half-meter canvas produced by the LA-based MADSTEEZ shows a vivid, emotional picture highlighting our addiction. The Grim Reaper, his face hidden in the blackness, holds in his hand an iPhone emitting colorful rays, pulling his attention towards it. An indication that nobody is safe from the addictive quality of technology.
iHEART — Nobody Likes Me
Joe Iurato — Modern Love (Sunset)
Underground artist iHeart produced work that commented on children unable to function without technology, as did Joe Iurato with his take on two kids sitting on a bench, taking selfies, unaware of each other. Millo produced two canvases with his classic Italian style, in which a boy is lost in the world because of technology. While MauMau showed Mowgli, from the Jungle Book, mesmerised by a TV, instead of a snake in the jungle.
Millo — The World Is Melting
Word To Mother — Social Media Mask
Word To Mother, showcased his ‘Social Media Mask’ a crowd favourite, which conveyed the message that people aren’t themselves when they post on social media. They hide behind a carefully constructed image. The gold leaf on the eyes highlighting that we only show our best.
Martin Whatson — The Connection
Martin Whatson, fresh of his solo L.A show, grabbed a lot of attention with his painting, in which a hooded man’s creativity is pulled out from him through his phone.
Nafir — Free Wifi
Nafir, who has to keep his identity hidden in Iran, due to the politicised nature of his art created two canvases; a woman being chased by zombie followers and a protester holding a ‘Free Wifi’ sign.
Myneandyours — Wired
Iraqi artist Myneandyours created a piece called ‘Wired’ which showed humans being plugged in by sockets, representing society being connected at all times.
London Police — Robot Tanksy №6 rides a Dog
MAUMAU — Three Monkeys
London Police and Mau Mau (his second piece) conveyed The Social Paradox through humour. The former showed a robot riding a human being, and the latter showing three monkeys using money and social media to influence political outcomes; the middle monkey being portrayed as Donald Trump.
Ben Eine, D*Face, Reggie Yates, Chuck Friends
Street Art proved a great platform to promote the message of The Social Paradox, as it allowed people to talk about a current problem in a humorous and open way. The topic was sharp, serious and at times melancholic, but the vibe of the event was quite the opposite! We had DJs across all of the four days, and drinks on the house provided by craft brewery FourPure and Butler’s Gin — who produced custom-made Calio Cocktails, made of Gin, Jam & Ginger!
People from all over Europe downloaded Calio to enter StolenSpace, and we had loads of walk-ins too.
Our plan is to follow up with another street art event next year, a much larger and immersive experience. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to wait that long for another Calio event; we plan on entering the wellness and sports space soon. The aim here is to get people off their phones and more in tune with their bodies.
On top of Calio events, we will sponsor up and coming parties beginning with those which are being hosted by the DJs who played at the exhibition; Alex Cresent & Dj Marcelina. We are developing a brand account feature which will allow people to follow specific artists and brands to have their events added to their calendar when they follow them.
At Calio, The Social Paradox is dear to our hearts and we want to continue to promote our brand by bringing people together, through events and experiences.
The Social Paradox Street Art Exhibition is just the start. We have many ideas for the future. If you’d like to know more about the event, request exclusive photos, videos & interviews, please get in touch with team@calio.co.uk
Calio Co-Founders, Latif Baluch & Ramy Al-Kadhi
