Ryoji Ikeda's London exhibition explores data, silence, and dead media through mathematical works

Ryoji Ikeda presented his exhibition 'π, e, ø' at Almine Rech Gallery in London from 6 April to 20 May 2017. The show featured works exploring mathematical concepts, data visualization, and media archaeology across three rooms. Central pieces included 4'33" [gray] (2014), which references John Cage's silent composition and Nam June Paik's Zen for Film through 6,552 frames of blank 16mm film arranged in a 55-row grid measuring 88 x 92 cm. The data.scan series (2011) presented nine LED screens displaying rapid numerical streams representing DNA sequencing, protein structures, and four-dimensional hypercubes. The systematics series (2011-12) showcased six backlit panels documenting obsolete media formats including piano rolls, IBM computer tape, and US Department of Defense aperture cards. Recent works like the irrational (ø) [n°1-c] (2017) visualized 1,452,384 decimal digits of the golden ratio on plain white surfaces. Ikeda's approach connects to Marshall McLuhan's media theories and Bruce Sterling's Dead Media Project, shifting focus from human-readable information to machine-oriented abstraction. The exhibition text positioned these works as statements about increasingly opaque systems of representation rather than mathematical beauty. The show was reviewed in ArtReview's Summer 2017 issue, which noted Ikeda's transition from electronic musician to visual artist exploring signal-noise relationships.