HOLOPLOT’s spatial audio system will be deployed at Lightroom, the King’s Cross immersive exhibition space, for the new David Bowie exhibition opening on April 22, 2026.
The venue is home to the UK’s first fixed HOLOPLOT X1 Matrix Array sound system. There are two X1 arrays at either end of the room. Each array comprises four X1 Modul 96s and four X1 Modul 80-Ss, embedded inside wall cavities to create a 360-degree projection surface.
The system, developed by Berlin-based audio specialist HOLOPLOT, now part of Sphere Entertainment, will support the immersive presentation of David Bowie: You’re Not Alone. HOLOPLOT’s technology was originally developed for the Las Vegas Sphere and is designed to deliver acoustic precision across large-scale venues.
The exhibition will combine rare performance footage, photography, drawings, lyrics and personal notes across Lightroom’s 11m-tall projected walls and open floor space.
Sound designer Gareth Fry has reconfigured each track in the show to make use of the venue’s spatial audio capabilities. Fry, who has won multiple Olivier and Tony awards for productions including Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, previously worked with director Mark Grimmer on the V&A’s landmark David Bowie Is exhibition. The presentation will feature Bowie as its sole voice, with audio compiled from hundreds of interviews spanning five decades.
The exhibition is structured in thematic chapters exploring subjects including theatricality, spirituality, songwriting and creativity, drawing on material from the David Bowie Archive in New York. Rather than focusing on Bowie’s famous alter egos – Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke – the show is designed to place the spotlight on the man behind the masks, drawing on his own words and perspective throughout. The show is produced by Lightroom, designed by 59 (a Journey studio) and directed by Mark Grimmer and Tom Wexler.
Among the material selected from thousands of hours of footage held in the Archive is a 1975 transatlantic television interview with Russell Harty, in which Bowie takes control of the encounter and steers it to his own ends. The show also features a reconstruction of the set from the Diamond Dogs tour, one of the most elaborate and theatrically ambitious staging efforts in rock history.
David Sabel, executive producer at Lightroom, said: “Lightroom offers an incredible opportunity to step inside an artist’s imagination and creative universe – weaving film, photography, animation, text and music into a story that can only be experienced in this space. I cannot think of an artist more suited to this than David Bowie. Working so closely with RZO and the David Bowie Archive has been a great privilege.”
David Bowie: You’re Not Alone will run from April 22 to 28 June 2026, with additional dates to be announced. The show has been made in close collaboration with and authorised by the David Bowie Estate. Tickets are priced from £25 for adults and £15 for students and concessions.
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