‘The Age of Not Believing’ highlights a different kind of human degeneration as we transition from childhood to adulthood and how it affects the way we accept reality today. As somebody who never truly grew up, Artist Gabriel Eden James has always had the blessing of magic in his life. When we grow into an adult society, the concept of power deviates from the innocence of magic. Instead it takes on the form of a weapon that so few have the ability and humanity to wield resulting in war, crime and control. 

 

So as someone who didn’t go through it, James has always wondered at what point do children shed their ability to see the magic in things and as the saying goes, ‘grow up’. At the age of seven, and lead by that same ability, James created another world as a coping mechanism for the rejection he faced within his younger life. Twenty-three years on and that same world has become so vivid and realistic that it occupies a daily reality on par with the same reality that we all accept within society. 

 

James’ installation of hand crafted miniature creations encourage the viewer to feel inspired and reclaim their lost ability to imagine a world lead by the power of magic. To ask themselves, if the world through the eyes of a child is that free of pain, division and gain, why do we ever grow up?