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It\u2019s no secret to anyone, not least in the UK, that we are living in times of unparalleled division. Socially, economically, politically\u2026 in terms of gender, sexual, religious or racial identity. On all sides, an \u201cus vs them\u201d logic prevails; rather than topics wrought with human nuance and complexity, subjects of debate are perceived as monolithic affronts. All of us, it would seem, favour nesting in silos of delusion \u2013 inhabiting worlds of blinkered, selective belief \u2013 over dealing with the messy matter of the world.<\/p>\n
Consequently, there are fewer and fewer contexts where this messy matter can be dealt with \u2013 or even perceived. Places where conversations fuelled by rivalling opinions can be had and heard, without the prospect of all-out conflict. One such place, however, exists in the heart of London \u2013 in Hyde Park. And we\u2019re not talking about Speakers\u2019 Corner, but rather Serpentine North Gallery, which, until next January, is home to The Delusion<\/em><\/a>, an experiential exhibition by the Berlin-based British artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley<\/a>.<\/p>\n THE DELUSION, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, 2025. Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies. \u00a9 Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, photography: Hugo Glendinning<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Better known \u2013 up to now, in any case \u2013 for her digital archives of the experiences of Black trans people, and her slickly lo-fi video games that confront players with their possible complicity in pertinent social injustices, this exhibition is her most interactive, most direct to date.<\/p>\n Visually impactful and politically charged \u2013 barbed, even \u2013 as Brathwaite-Shirley\u2019s work has been, a profound sense of agency lies at its heart. \u201cI say that I\u2019m an archivist and someone who uses the audience as the main medium of everything I do,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a practice that involves game engines, and using video games in a way they\u2019re not often used to try and tackle social issues,\u201d and, moreover, to prompt participants to contemplate their own relationships to the issues posed.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough technology plays a large role in my practice, it\u2019s because it\u2019s a way to give choice over to the audience, so that what they do in this space will determine what they see,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating work that begins a dialogue with someone. The more they give, the more they get from the work,\u201d and vice versa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n