Exhibition: The Horror Show! A Twisted Tale of Modern Britain

Through some of our country’s most provocative artists, this exhibition presents an alternative perspective on modern Britain.

Told in three acts – Monster, Ghost and Witch – it takes audiences on a heady ride through the past 50 years of counter-cultural movements, from the disruptive stance of 1970s punk to the enchanted otherness of modern witchcraft today, showing how through turbulent times, the subversive makes sense of the world around us. ​

​Celebrating the mavericks who draw inspiration from the monstrous, the mystic and the magical, The Horror Show! sets the stage for a spellbinding spectacle of art, music and film with over 150 works and cultural objects.

Each act of the exhibition represents an era of British history from the past 50 years. Introducing The Horror Show!, Monster explores the political turbulence of the 70s and social division of the 80s, revealing a resoundingly British spirit of rebellion which disrupts and dislocates the country’s cultural identity. ​

​Ghost traces a path through the pressure drop and hollow hedonism of the 90s before hurtling full pelt to the global financial crisis of 2008, charting a turning point and a time caught between a century of old and new, at the dawn of a digital age - the harbinger of the haunted landscape of the internet and of invisible wars and viruses. ​

​Finally in Witch, gone is the paternalistic occult of old, as a new generation reclaims space for a multitude of positions and voices in a hyper-connected global community, embracing a more inclusive dynamic around identity, equality, hybridity and the environment. ​

Each of the exhibition’s three acts opens with cabinets of curiosities, containing artworks, objects and ephemera from the era, connecting significant cultural shifts with the people and events that ignited them.

Content guidance: This exhibition contains some graphic and disturbing artworks and therefore may not be suitable for children under 12.

Ian has visited - review here.