0.1% by Jonathan Baldock at London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE | Press | Bloomberg LP

London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE will present 0.1%, an immersive installation by Jonathan Baldock from 30 January – July 2025. Drawing on the site’s rich history, which is home to the ruins of a Roman Temple of Mithras, the new commission will explore myths, legends, gods and rituals and their influence on our lives.

The British artist’s distinctive sculptural installations are formed from natural materials such as hessian wool, clay, wood and metal. Together they blend colour, texture, scent, sound and humour. Influenced by myth, folklore and paganism, Baldock’s work reimagines queer and working-class histories, uncovering hidden narratives.

Central to the installation and inspired by the Roman artefacts discovered on the site, will be a personal relic of Baldock’s, the remnants of an early clay sculpture he made for his mother. Cast in bronze from a 3D scan and adorned with semi- precious gems, the supersized form will complete a monumental Mother Goddess sculpture, contrasting with the male-centric Mithras religion below.

0.1% will feature a forest of hop poles, reflecting Baldock’s deep connection with nature and his family’s Kentish history as hop-gatherers and gardeners. The poles will form a maze-like space as they support textile panels, reminiscent of the laundry lines of previous generations. Baldock’s hand-made textile panels will feature his mother’s favourite flowers along with networks of trees, plants and insects, symbolising family and friendship and celebrating the importance of supportive relationships which are woven together over time.

“Stories of the past help us to understand the world, and foster connection.” explains Baldock “0.1% refers to the small genetic difference that unites humanity. The installation explores support structures and ideas of family, both biological and chosen, emphasising our interconnectedness and interdependence.”

Visitors will be able to engage further with the exhibition using the Bloomberg Connects app, the free digital guide to cultural organisations around the world that makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices, anytime, anywhere. The app can be downloaded for free via Google Play or the App Store.

About the artist:

Baldock was born in 1980 in Kent, UK. He lives and works in London. He graduated from Winchester School of Art with a BA in Painting (2000-2003), followed by the Royal College of Art, London with an MA in Painting (2003-2005).

Saturated with humour and wit, as well as an uncanny, macabre quality that channels his long standing interest in myth and folklore, Baldock has an ongoing focus on the contrast between the material qualities of ceramic and fabric in his work. Concerned with removing the functional aspects of the materials he uses, the artist instead works in a performative way through his sculptural assemblages, bringing the viewer, the object and the space they simultaneously occupy into question as a theatrical or ritualistic act.

Recent solo exhibitions include Touch Wood, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK (2023); through the joy of the senses, Charleston Lewes, Sussex, UK (2023); Unearthed, Kunstverein Göttingen, Germany (2023); we are flowers of one garden, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK (2023); I’m Still Learning, La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain (2021); Warm Inside, Accelerator, Stockholm, Sweden (2021); and Me, Myself and I, Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway (2020).

In the spring of 2019, Baldock’s solo exhibition Facecrime opened at Camden Arts Centre, London following a Freelands Lomax Ceramics Fellowship. The exhibition travelled to Tramway, Glasgow in August 2019 and Bluecoat, Liverpool in March 2020. Other notable solo and two-person exhibitions include LOVE LIFE: Act 3, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, UK (2017); LOVE LIFE: Act 2, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, UK (2017); There’s No Place Like Home, Southwark Park Galleries, London, UK (2017); LOVE LIFE: Act 1, PEER, London, UK (2016); The Soft Machine, Chapter Gallery, Cardiff, Wales, UK (2016) and A strange cross between a butchers shop and a nightclub, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, UK (2013).

About London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE
Situated on the site of Bloomberg’s European headquarters, London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE returns the Roman Temple of Mithras to the location of its discovery in the heart of London and offers visitors an immersive experience of the ancient temple as well as a chance to see a collection of the Roman artefacts found during the building excavations. Expanding on Bloomberg’s legacy of support for new commissions by international artists, the ground floor Bloomberg SPACE gallery aims to present lively and thoughtful works by contemporary artists whilst bringing fresh perspectives to the many-layered history of the site.

London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE is free to visit and open to the public from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, and on Sundays and Bank Holidays from 12 pm to 5 pm. Pre-booking is advised through londonmithraeum.com.

About Bloomberg Connects
The London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE guide on Bloomberg Connects invites audiences to go deeper and learn more about the site and the temple. This free digital guide to cultural organisations around the world makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices, anytime, anywhere. The guide features exclusive interactive content, educational resources and historical exhibitions and can be downloaded for free via Google Play or the App Store.

Media contact:
Natalie Harland, nharland1@bloomberg.net