Inside the House of Kong: An Immersive Gorillaz Experience in London
Forget your phone, put on your headphones, and step inside the twisted world of Gorillaz. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s groundbreaking band now has its own surreal walkthrough — part gallery, part trip, and all vibes.
What is House of Kong?
House of Kong is the name Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett gave to their original studio space — the creative bunker where Gorillaz was born. It’s where the first sketches, samples, and stories took shape, giving life to the animated band members we now know: 2D, Murdoc, Noodle, and Russel.
This new experience — built inside the Copper Box Arena on London’s Olympic Park — reimagines that studio space as a full-blown immersive and guided exhibition. It’s not a greatest hits retrospective. It’s a living, breathing walkthrough of the Gorillaz universe.
What to Expect from the Gorillaz Exhibition
From the outside, it’s low-key. Just a cabin at Hackney Bridge with Gorillaz-style signage and a friendly welcome. But inside? You’re in their world.
First, you’re asked to seal your phone in a pouch and switch it off. No photos, no distractions. Just you, a set of headphones, and the unfolding experience.
You begin in a dimly lit gallery — early character art, sketchbooks, and video screens showing the band’s evolution from underground project to cultural phenomenon. So far, so standard.
Then the door opens, and things get weird.
Outside sits a rusting Winnebago — possibly Murdoc’s. You step inside and it stinks. Pine tree air fresheners hang in clusters from the ceiling. Through your headphones, a voiceover tells the story of this twisted tour bus, its odours, and the unholy chaos within. It’s grubby. It’s immersive. It’s brilliant.
And it only gets better.
You move through studio sets and prop rooms, each more surreal than the last. There are real instruments, costume pieces, ephemera from across the Gorillaz timeline — all layered with commentary, atmospheric sound design, and of course, music. Some spaces feel like you’ve stepped into the mind of Murdoc. Others could be Noodle’s memory fragments.
It builds. It warps. Then finally, phones unsealed, you reach a glowing scale model of Plastic Beach. It feels like you’ve returned from somewhere else entirely.
Is it Worth It?
Completely. House of Kong isn’t just another band exhibition. It’s a psychological trip into one of pop’s most unconventional acts. Part installation, part fever dream, part secret gig in your ears.
There’s a reason they ban phones. It would spoil the experience — and the surprise. The less you know, the better.
Know Before You Go
📍 Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London
🚇 Closest stations: Hackney Wick, Stratford
⏱ Duration: Around 1 hour (of which 40 mins immersive experience)
👀 Age guidance: 14+
🚫 No toilets inside
📵 Phones must be sealed and switched off
📅 Runs until 3rd September 2025
Book Tickets at https://houseofkong.gorillaz.com/