WHO RUNS THE WORLD - Group Exhibition at The Bomb Factory Marylebone

The Bomb Factory Art Foundation is proud to present Who Runs the World, a multidisciplinary exhibition exploring the shifting role of authorship, creativity and human labour in an era increasingly defined by automation, acceleration, and technological advancements. The exhibition poses a timely and pressing question: in a future driven by technology, will the artist as auteur, and the value of the handmade artwork, continue to hold significance?

Opening in May, following Labour Day, the exhibition endeavors to interrogate contemporary understandings of human labour through the lens of the art-world. As we enter a future shaped by machine learning, synthetic media and data-driven economies, Who Runs the World invites audiences to reflect on the value we place on physical art-making today. It even dares to ask, is hand-made art on the path to becoming a relic of the past? Or will current developments prompt a revaluation of traditional art forms, increasing their value in a virtual future?

Featuring both emerging and established artists working across sculpture, film, digital media, and painting, each piece shares a key element: they are made, shaped, or finished by the human hand, while also engaging with the digital. For example, multimedia artist and filmmaker Josèfa Ntjam draws raw material for her work from the internet, books on natural sciences, and photographic archives to construct speculative worlds that envision inclusive utopias. Conceptual artist Be Andr has developed a hybrid painting system in which code and touch coexist, proposing a symbiotic relationship between human and machine. Meanwhile, sculptor Rafał Zajko merges histories of architecture and industrialisation with folklore and science fiction to create fantastical artworks imbued with a sense of existential dread.

These works interrogate the evolving relationship between human creativity and machine efficiency. If machines can simulate painting, writing, composing, and even 'feeling', what remains uniquely human in the act of creation? This exhibition resists easy answers, instead presenting artistic strategies that challenge, reframe, and reclaim the meaning of creation in a post-labour economy.

Hosted at The Bomb Factory’s Marylebone site, Who Runs the World reflects our ongoing commitment to artist-led, independent programming that is both visually ambitious and intellectually engaging. This group show embodies our curatorial ethos, pairing emerging voices with established artists to explore urgent themes - from digital authorship and algorithmic bias to care, emotional labour, and the future of work.

As The Bomb Factory nears its tenth year, Who Runs the World marks a moment of reflection and renewal, affirming our dedication to experimentation and the evolving role of independent spaces in shaping cultural discourse, while looking toward a better future.

PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 8th May, 6-8pm

LOCATION: 206 Marylebone Road, NW1 6JQ

DATES: 8th May - 1st June

TIMES:  Weds - Sat, 12-6pm

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