Viewing Jane and Louise Wilson: Performance of Entrapment at Bloomberg SPACE

Beloved British sibling duo Jane and Louise Wilson are the latest contemporary artists to be inspired by the London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE’s fascinating ancient history – a past that was revealed during construction works in 1954 for Bloomberg’s European headquarters, when a Roman Mithraeum known as the Temple of Mithras, devoted to the mystery god Mithras, was uncovered.

This major discovery in the heart of the City of London has captivated audiences and artists alike. For the Wilsons, 2,000 year-old oak timbers, believed to have once supported a crossing over the River Walbrook (the ancient waterway that flowed alongside the Temple of Mithras, and still exists below the city’s streets) was the starting point for a new body of works that evolve through various media, from screen prints to carved wood sculptures.

The Wilsons used high-resolution images of the oak’s grain to explore the hidden beauty and suggestion of memories contained in the wood’s structure, emblematic of the Mithraeum’s site itself. Titled Performance of Entrapment, the work continues the Wilsons’ consistent interest in exploring culturally significant sites, with spiritual and ritual resonances.