Metafictions of Post-Post-Postmodern

Hypha Gallery 2 / No. 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EN

PV: Thursday, 12th March 2026, 6-9pm

Open: 13 March – 18 April 2026

No. 1 Poultry, Jim Sterling’s iconic postmodern building, is reimagined as a cathedral of stories for central London. Drawing on exaggerated historical references—from the striped stone of Siena’s Duomo to the civic presence of Hawksmoor’s churches—the building’s architecture becomes a narrative canvas, shaped like a giant ship and designed through rigorous worm’s-eye perspectives.

Leading with Louis Pohl Koseda’s chimerical drawings visualising/deconstructing City of London’s physical/public/market architecture, ‘Metafictions of post-post-postmodern’ comes 40 years after building was designed, repositions space to become a cathedral for the postmodern, a ‘duomo of stories for central London’. Artists will respond to a proposition to return to the postmodernist deconstruction theory, the philosophical approach developed by Derrida. ‘Metafiction is a device where a story draws attention to its fictional nature, often through self-awareness and commentary on the creative process.’ The show will deconstruct the idea of white wall gallery into a fluid space where symbolic art and architecture are synchronised. An exposé of a new London movement, featuring several artists who embrace allegory where no single intrinsic meaning exists.

Family-friendly activities expand the experience, reimagining bureaucratic institutions as playful inflatables, inspired by Gladiator, Takeshi’s Castle, and Hani Salih’s organisational diagrams. Visitors can navigate whimsical planning challenges, face costumed “sumo” bureaucrats, and create 3D models of the building, blending education with interactivity.

Olly Williamson

Oliver-Bijan Daryoush

Jesse Ajilore

Alina Dieth

Cate Hueston

Kevin ATARI Abimiku

Caroline Cornelius

Ned Elliott

Ben Rea