Mike Nelson's previous exhibition at Matt's Galley, in the East End of London, took place in 2000. It was an important show in his career, garnering widespread critical acclaim and establishing him at the forefront of a new generation of installation artists. Since then, Nelson has been nominated for the Turner Prize, and has exhibited in major venues in Britain and internationally, including the Venice Biennale.

Nelson's oeuvre consists of building rooms. Usually, he converts gallery spaces, although some installations are site-specific. The environments he stages are low-rent, dilapidated, or abandoned spaces - old cinema foyers, seedy biker bars and taxi offices, arcade parlours, grimy hallways, low-fi spaceship interiors. They are typically filled with a profusion of junk objects and bric-à-brac: weathered stacks of pulp books and magazines,trophy animal-heads and fright masks, broken toys, rusting oil-cans and funky objets d'art.