Just in time for Halloween, an exhibition opens exploring how ideas rooted in horror have informed the last 50 years of creative rebellion.
The Horror Show at Somerset House aims to offer 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 make sense of the world around us.
(c) Somerset House
Featuring over 200 artworks and objects, the show will tell a story of the turbulence, unease and creative revolution at the heart of the British cultural psyche in three acts – Monster, Ghost and Witch. Each act interprets a specific era through the lens of a classic horror archetype.
Opening the show, Monster begins by delving into the economic and political turbulence of the 70s and the high octane spectacle and social division of the 80s. The show’s second act, Ghost, marks the collapse of hyperinflated 80s culture into an uncanny temperature change that presided over the 90s and early 00s. The exhibition’s final act, Witch, focuses on a Britain spanning 2008’s financial crash until the present day, and celebrates the emergence of a younger generation.
Monster, Ghost and Witch culminate in immersive installations, combining newly commissioned work, large-scale sculpture, fashion and sound installation.
The exhibition, The Horror Show! A Twisted Tale of Modern Britain opens at Somerset House on Thursday 27th October and runs through the winter nights to 19th February.
Adult: £16.50 | Art Pass: £13.20 | Concessions/Children: £12
If you buy the catalogue (£15), then there’s a 10% discount on the cost of the exhibition ticket, and if you buy the catalogue and poster (£25), then there’s 20% off the exhibition ticket price.
Tickets should be booked in advance from here.
Content guidance: The exhibition contains some graphic and disturbing artworks and therefore may not be suitable for children under 12.
