The renowned Berlin-based artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset have brought their groundbreaking exhibition "The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome" to Los Angeles, marking their first solo show in the city. The exhibition opened at Pace Gallery on September 13th and will run through October 25th, spanning both the gallery's main space and adjoining south gallery. Known for their sculptural interventions that examine themes of identity and belonging, the duo has created an immersive experience that explores shifts in perception through innovative techniques of doubling, resizing, and spatial reduplication.

The exhibition takes its title from Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, a real neurological condition also known as Dysmetropsia, where distortions of size and distance dramatically alter a person's sense of reality. Elmgreen & Dragset have masterfully translated this medical phenomenon into sculptural form by choreographing encounters that blur the lines between real and imagined dimensions. Using the gallery's architecture as both stage and subject, each artwork appears at full scale in the main hall while exact half-size versions are replicated in a carefully constructed miniature of that same space.

The artistic journey begins at the gallery's reception desk, where visitors encounter a hyperrealistic sculpture of a gallery assistant who appears to have fallen asleep. From this starting point, visitors enter what feels like a dreamscape where objects expand and contract as if conjured in her slumber. This doubling of artworks across the two gallery spaces deliberately underscores the instability of perception, inviting viewers to inhabit the logic of distortion and question their own sense of scale and reality.

Among the new works featured throughout the exhibition are pieces from Elmgreen & Dragset's acclaimed Sky Target series. These striking circular paintings of drifting clouds are rendered on mirror-polished stainless steel disks, creating a unique interplay between atmospheric imagery and reflective surfaces. Each disk overlays atmospheric fragments with glimpses of the viewer themselves, merging images of the sky with personal reflection. Named after locations that hold significance for the artists, these works stage a complex dialogue between representation and reflection.

Two additional wall works, which the artists refer to as "stripe paintings," further develop this investigation into perception and reality. These pieces feature vertical bands of sky streaked with contrails that alternate with mirrored strips, establishing a visual rhythm that becomes activated as viewers move through the space. The works extend the ongoing dialogue between transparency and opacity, between external image and self-awareness, creating an ever-changing visual experience.

Placed strategically within both the main gallery and its half-scale counterpart are two powerful marble sculptures that directly address contemporary conditions of disconnection and digital isolation. One sculpture depicts two young men locked in an embrace, each wearing VR goggles, while another shows a seated figure absorbed in listening through headphones. This pairing creates a striking contrast between the immateriality of digital immersion and the permanence of marble, a material with centuries of sculptural history and cultural weight.

By grounding these mediated digital experiences in carved stone, Elmgreen & Dragset draw sharp attention to the friction between fleeting virtual engagement and enduring physical presence. The marble figures appear simultaneously absorbed in their digital worlds yet isolated from genuine human connection, their intimacy mediated by devices that redirect their awareness elsewhere. This powerful commentary on modern life resonates throughout the exhibition, questioning how technology shapes our relationships and perceptions of reality in an increasingly connected yet disconnected world.