Mona Ryder: Dance Me to the End of Night

Mona Ryder is a 21st century surrealist who melded the rich, visceral religious iconography with a raw, post-apocalyptic aesthetic.

This installation, like so many of Ryder's, could not be read through a rational linear lens: it was emotive and surreal. It discussed rites of passage and anxious anticipation, the dreamlike rituals we would illicitly observe.

Visitors were invited to enter into an enigmatic ballroom setting that felt like it was about to come alive.

Mutant jellyfish shapes hung in a circle; electrical cords were ready to plug in and activate the surrounding shoes. In a corner, other shoes were plugged into the wall recharging as they regained their composure, to re-enter the frenetic activities of the ballroom.

This was not unlike society, with our numerous networks and the excessive reliance on connectivity.