Art gallery celebrates joke emails

A top London art gallery is to host the first exhibition celebrating viral emails.

‘Outrageous and Contagious’ at the Institute of Contemporary Art displays the bizarre news, incredible spoofs and hilarious bloopers that are now a cultural and social phenomenon.

Put together in association with Channel 4’s IDEASFACTORY, viral site Bore Me, digital agency Ralph and viral promoter Hot Cherry, the exhibition runs from 1 – 8 May, and investigates how virals transformed into a “global phenomenon, infiltrating all aspects of society and culture - from the way in which we document our lives and the subjects people discuss, to the way we are advertised and marketed to”.

Visitors will learn more about the people behind some of the most popular virals and see the funniest, weirdest and most outrageous virals from around the world. A ’Classics’ showcase will collect together the ultimate virals of all time.

The exhibition will also act as a launch pad for the second annual viral ‘Oscars’ called Germ. This year Germ runs from 4 July – 30 November, and is open to UK residents and UK digital creative agencies.

http://www.channel4.com/germ
http://www.ica.org.uk
http://www.channel4.com/ideasfactory
http://www.boreme.com
http://www.ralphandco.com
http://www.hotcherry.co.uk