Robert Cervera reminds us of the physical side of the digital world in the final live performance for his ‘Hiddenware’ exhibition, with live gaming and music on March 21st.
The countdown is fast approaching for the final live performance by gamers, musicians and artists, as part of Hiddenware at SPACE Gallery, Ilford, London, on 21st March 2026. Find out more information about the Hiddenware exhibition by Robert Cervera and live performance here and RSVP your free ticket here.
You suddenly find yourself in a dimly lit space, surrounded by live gamers battling it out on screen, whilst musicians accompany them from the central sculpture – a musical instrument made entirely of PC cooling tubes. The instrument sits alongside towering, steel and concrete sculptures that point to the hidden materials that make up the virtual world. No, you’ve not suddenly entered the plot and set of a sci-fi film but instead the world of artist Robert Cervera, on a mission to encourage us all to uncover the ‘hidden’ elements behind our digital worlds that many of us take for granted, in his aptly titled solo show ‘Hiddenware’.
Imagine taking a gaming session out of a dim-lit bedroom and into the middle of an art exhibition. Then add a live soundtrack produced by an instrument made entirely out of PC liquid cooling tubes. For his ‘Hiddenware’ exhibition, on show for its final month until April 2026 at SPACE Gallery in Ilford East London, Cervera has done just this. He’s also been working alongside local gamers and musicians to create a series of audiovisual performances in which the musicians mirror through their live instrumental playing what the gamers are doing on their gaming screen, all of it shared live via Twitch and presentially with us, the audience, live in the gallery.
“This time I’m coming back to music with the mind of a sculptor. I see it as another element that I can bring into my installations, together with digital content, sculpture and space itself.” – Robert Cervera
Cervera’s training as a classical musician at the Badalona Conservatoire in Spain, and later as a fine artist in London, is more present here than ever and promises to make for a very thrilling and tense final performance to the ‘Hiddenware’ exhibition, which draws to a close on 15th April 2026.
The artist wants us to consider the huge environmental impact that this physical, digital world takes up too: “In order to have any meaningful conversations about resources, sustainability or digital inequality, we need to be aware of the material footprint of the virtual.”
The finale performance will be complemented by a social event, with free drinks enjoyed by a mix of fine art and tech enthusiasts, students, locals, fine artists, musicians and gamers alike, all enthusiastically mingling together to appreciate the gamers and musicians skillful ability to navigate this unusual live performance. This free, final, ‘Hiddenware’ live performance by Cervera and his band of gamers and musicians on March 21st will take place between 5pm and 8pm at SPACE Ilford. The performance is free, open to all and not to be missed. RSVP your free ticket here.
“‘Hiddenware’ is about the hidden physical stuff behind the digital world, all the material infrastructure behind this seemingly non-material world. Every element I’ve used in the exhibition is part of this hidden materiality, as a reminder laid out in the gallery. A reminder that no matter how immaterial you think the digital world is, it will always come back to haunt you in very physical ways.” – Robert Cervera