Adrián Villar Rojas inaugurates Serpentine Sackler Gallery with unfired clay installation exploring decay and renewal

Adrián Villar Rojas presents his inaugural exhibition at the Serpentine's new Sackler Gallery, housed in a building originally constructed in 1805 as an ammunition store. The artist transforms the space with unfired clay installations that reference both the structure's military history and contemporary cultural artifacts. A life-sized elephant sculpture appears crushed under a beam, its surface rough yet fleshy, while clay cladding wraps rooms like a second skin. One gunpowder room features stained glass windows that cast a soft glow, evoking the building's past. Another room displays shelves filled with clay replicas of futuristic figurines, iPod shuffles, vases, and domestic tools—all rendered non-functional through their material. The untreated clay naturally shrinks and cracks as moisture escapes, creating an inherent state of decay. This process disrupts both physical structures and cultural hierarchies, as seen when clay kittens cuddle beneath a broken Renaissance statue, blending kitsch with classical emblems. Throughout the exhibition, sprouting plant life and shrubbery emerge among clay objects, suggesting renewal. The gallery floor is tiled with loose-laid red bricks imported from Argentina, crafted using traditional methods; their uneven surface creaks underfoot, creating a meditative atmosphere. The exhibition title, 'Today We Reboot The Planet,' proposes a return to an unadulterated state while questioning distinctions between nature and culture.