A new exhibition celebrating the boombox opens tomorrow with a private view and proceeding show that will take a vibrant look at this old-school icon. The Boombox Project by Lyle Owerko is presented by London Gallery Whisper in collaboration with XOYO and will run into the new year, featuring contemporary fine art portraits of an array of vintage boomboxes.

Lyle Owerko is a New York based filmmaker and photographer who has directed music videos for artists such as Rufus Wainwright and American HI-FI. He also shot the cover for the September 11, 2001 issue of Time, which was ranked as one of the most important magazine covers in the past 40 years by the American Society Of Magazine Editors.

Beloved by rappers, b-boys and dancers alike, the boombox has played an iconic role in Hip-Hop and street culture and is a subject close to Owerko’s heart. Stemming from a trip to Tokyo in 2001 where he found a mint condition late-seventies Victor JVC at an outdoor market, Owerko became an avid collector of rare and obscure boombox models and went on to document these cult objects in his book: The Boombox Project: The Machines, The Music, and The Urban Underground, featuring an introduction by Spike Lee.

This will be the first time that the full exhibition is on public display in the UK and as a lover of Hip-Hop culture I’m particularly looking forward to catching this show, with those thoughts echoed by the Director of Whisper Gallery, Jamie Wood who said “Owerko’s work is sought after by many major art collectors, in fact the V&A recently acquired one of his boomboxes in to their permanent collection. So, we’re really proud to be presenting the work of such a talented individual in our gallery and to be able to offer limited edition prints of his work to those who want to take a little bit of this remarkable photoseries home with them.”

The private view for the launch of The Boombox Project at XOYO on Thursday 1st December will see a selection of Owerko’s Boombox prints displayed, and will be followed by a one-off London gig from Brooklyn based ‘Art Rap/Freak Folk/World Music’ duo Das Racist.
The Boombox Project will be on public view at XOYO from 2nd December to 7th December. A larger selection of prints will be on display at Whisper gallery from 9th December – 14th January, with a private view at the gallery on 8th December. All 27 prints in the photoseries will be on display across both locations. Lyle Owerko’s prints will be displayed in a range of sizes at Whisper and XOYO, from 16 x 20 inches to 60 x 89 inches. All prints on display will be available in limited numbers to purchase at Whisper and XOYO and online at www.whisperfineart.co.uk, with prices starting from £600.