This autumn Somerset House presents a major exhibition celebrating the greatest cultural provocateurs and visionaries, examining how ideas rooted in horror have informed the last 50 years of creative rebellion in Britain.
The Horror Show! is a landmark exhibition that invites visitors to journey to the underbelly of Britain’s cultural psyche and look beyond horror as a genre, instead taking it as a reaction to our most troubling times. Featuring over 200 artworks and culturally significant artefacts from some of our country’s most provocative artists, the exhibition presents an alternative perspective on the last five decades of modern British history in three acts – Monster, Ghost and Witch. Recast as a story of cultural shapeshifting, each section interprets a specific era through the lens of a classic horror archetype with thematically linked contemporaneous and new works.
The exhibition offers a heady ride through the disruption of 1970s punk to the revolutionary potential of modern witchcraft, showing how the anarchic alchemy of horror – its subversion, transgression and the supernatural – can help make sense of the world around us. Horror not only allows us to express our deepest fears; it gives a powerful voice to the marginalised and society’s outliers, providing us with tools to overcome our anxieties and imagine a radically different future.
The Horror Show! is co-curated by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard and Claire Catterall, who also conceived the idea. Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are BAFTA nominated filmmakers and resident artists at Somerset House Studios. Claire Catterall is Somerset House’s Senior Curator.
Find out more about the exhibition here
Combine your event at Somerset House with a private view or curated tour of The Horror Show!
Take your next event beyond the ordinary and into the unknown, in the Lightwells and Deadhouse. The Deadhouse runs directly beneath the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, and its eerie memorials set into the walls help lend this underground tunnel an ambience of its own.
Hidden from the public gaze, your guests will discover the unique architecture and unexpected hidden depths of Somerset House.
With an abundance of secret nooks and crannies, this fascinating space is perfect for creative and surprising events with an edge.