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Extended Media for the Horror Show, Somerset House

Warning: depictions of death, morbid and grotesque themes

Disclaimer: there will be spoilers to the content of the exhibition

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External visit 1/2

Screaming! Crying! Scratching the Walls and Chewing the Door handles! They let me into The Horror Show Exhibition!

On Friday the 10th of February, I visited the Horror Show exhibition in Somerset House, London, co-curated by Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard and Claire Catterall. This was an exhibition that married together otherworldly and often convoluted material with the progression of the political landscape of the UK over the past 50 years. Displayed as a tryptic, there had been three overarching themes: Monster, Ghost, and Witch. Within this blog post, I will detail my own experience chronologically through the space, and provide my own insight into how the work fits into my understanding of contemporary art history and how / why that understanding has evolved. All of the artists whose work will be included in this post can be found HERE. 

WARNING: this post will contain artworks depicting death and features blood and gore material

DISCLAIMER : Within this blog I will try with the utmost importance to be extremely transparent with any biases that may affect my opinions and impressions of an exhibition, equally when they have been challenged or altered. This being said I am a morbidly avid fan of Noel Fielding and his works, so this should be kept in the minds of any readers continuing with this blog entry in particular. 

The Entrance 

The exterior of The Somerset House had been changed to reflect the inner exhibition, with teeth at the doorway, and eyes and nose images displayed in windows. This was married with an immersive audio of beastly sounds, unfortunately I didn’t record this audio but as a spectator I personally found it very immersive and intriguing. The range of this audio had only extended around 4/5 meters from the ‘mouth’ of the building, so the disruption to pedestrians would be at a minimum showing a consideration to the outside environment. 

From an accessibility perspective focusing on the entrance, although they do make it very clear in the email, and outwardly with the decoration which entrance to find the exhibition, provided with a ramp next to the staircase, the actual entrance to the exhibition was poorly labelled. Me and my friends found ourselves in the bathroom straight ahead of the entrance, and re-tracking our steps realised that the entrance is around 2 meters in on the left wall, blending in with what I believed to be wallpaper. This posed no genuine issue and could have been done intentionally as to add another element of convolution to the exhibition. I believe it just to be a structural limitation of the venue, and this could’ve been slightly amended to encompass the experience of brisk walkers.  Below is a photograph taken by myself showing how the door entrance blends in with the rest of the wall. 

(Chloe Griffiths, 2023 Entry door to Somerset House Horror Show Exhibition [photograph])

Part One of Exhibition: Monsters 

Looking at the ‘Macabre and grotesque delving into the social and political turbulence of the 1970s and 1980s’ (Somerset, 2023) . The chronological nature of the curatorship physically moves you through each era. The presence of the political influence was established early, and both in the material and with the text provided there was a brash and unashamed link to these themes. 

Main focal points consisted of the influence of Margret Thatcher, understandably given her social influence and impression during this time.

 ‘Thatcher's reforms helped revive Britain's economy, but did it with wrenching economic reforms that dramatically altered society, sometimes causing violent upheaval’ (Morning Edition, 2013).

The above images was one of the first things you see upon entering the exhibition, a puppet imitating Thatcher from popular 1980s TV show ‘Spitting Image’. Again by using popular media from the 1980s, the motif of the horror themed content being associated with this era is reinforced. This was the first time this model of Thatcher had been put on public display, having previously stayed in Cambridge University Library.  

Elements contributing to the disturbing feel of this work include the dimmed lighting of the room, the addition of the external text ‘Misrule Britannia’ on the outer casing and what appears to be an electric chair head piece, of which a paper crown is fixed, with Thatcher's head angled upwards. This could be an interpretation of the effects of ruling a nation, with the social death of Thatcher's reputation among many being synonymous with her ‘Misrule’ of the nation. (Thatcher’s personal view was in support of capital punishment, and she had been open to always voting in favour of it, with interview footage HERE on the matter, whether this personal preference of hers was further influence of the curator or coincidence I am unsure) .

Further ahead there had been direct links to punk influence, a custom designed ‘Siouxsie and the Banshees’ leather jacket. Although known more for their alternative rock innovations, their post punk influence is reiterated on the block ‘cut up’ lettering (popularised by William Burrows and his innovations in counter culture in the mid 1960s). 

The fashion of the 1980s was then the final aspect of the ‘Monster’ section, an immersive exhibition of innovative pieces and documentary series. One of which being the continuous filming of the entrance to a popular 1980s club, where these themes of rebellion, identity and non-conformity were echoed and expressed in the versatile fashions. I found this finale of the exhibition to encapsulate the outer influences of the work, providing a more interpersonal and human aspect, although they like the rest of the works demonstrate the same motifs, to see that this had influence outside of the immediate artistic analysis into the lives and expression of the general public reaffirmed the influence of the times I was not alive to witness. 

With the revival of post punk music, fashion and icons such as in the 2021 film Cruella, to immerse myself in the origins and connectivity between politics and art allows for a better understanding of its’ contemporary influences. 

Part Two of the Exhibition : Ghost 

Next in the floor was Ghost, found after climbing a glass spiral staircase to reach the next floor, I didn’t see any signs or indication for more accessible routes, though equally I didn’t ask so these options can’t be completely ruled out. 

A more eerie tone was set by audio mixed by Nick Ryan and Laura Grace Ford. The above image was part of the first installations of this section, an interactive element in two parts, one wall where you could speak into artificial ears, and then move towards the shown skulls where you could hear back the audio recorded. This movement from visceral and emotive work to figures that hold semantics with death provided a noticeable transition in reference of the works. As this would relate to the 1990s-2010s, with emphasis on the 2008 financial crisis the drop in environmental pressure left me as an observer understanding the empty and disorientated feel of the time.  

Motifs of a stagnant and observant air permeated through this section, and I personally felt this was the most oppressive and lifeless section of the exhibition. 

This line of thought meant I had a little laugh at the poor fellow I bumped into next:

This sculpture by Jeremy Miller, the modern clothing, visceral position and theme married with the artificial stage lighting punctuates the social death of the early 2000s, with financial failures dampening down to effect not just the most vulnerable of society but also people within the mean brackets of income. 

This being a time period I am more familiar with, I was more prepared to explore the themes being exhibited, in contrast to the prior Monster section, where I had only recognised key themes through culture referances, I had a more tactile understanding of this era. In addition to this, there had been elements within Ghost that drew me in more so than the more ‘artistic’ pieces. As with Monster there had been memorabilia from the era to show an actuality to the messaging behind the work, but it wasn’t until I saw the mask from costumes like Bollo the Gorilla from the Mighty Boosh, script extracts from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and a solitary Nintendo DS behind a glass screen that genuine connections between me and the world I lived in with context of the political climate had been made. I would believe that similar emotions would be found in older generations earlier in the exhibition, and this realisation brought with it a heightened appreciation for the decision making process in what ‘historic’ pieces would best accompany the art and theory, forming a new link within the analysis of each era, shifting towards a triangle between the art, the socio-political climate and the average person, I felt more immersed and included in this narrative which strongly reinforced the messaging.  

Part Three of the Exhibition: Witch

The final element of this exhibition was Witch, bringing us into the modern age, with a stark and attention grabbing entrance made from textile, shown below:  

With motifs in observation with the large eyes emerging from the piece, follows nicely from the hyper vigilant motifs of Ghost, the slightly hinted themes of female genitalia in this piece also signal the main focuses of this segment, the movements made by fourth wave feminism from 2012 onwards. 

Textiles often historically considered to be a feminine industry, the use of complex and mastered techniques in garments and installations highlights the skill, ability and creativity of this era. There was notably less media based ‘memorabilia’ within this section, focusing more on physical work and short films/ video installations, this could be determined through the fact that we haven’t marinated in this social climate long enough to reap strong connections in theme with the exhibition, or , in my opinion, that given to the fact that everyone within the exhibition would be present at the current time, at the end of the exhibition they would be able to leave the venue and witness for themselves the impact on their day to day materials. 

For the work that had been present, there was visible connections to prior feminist waves, though as the title suggested, this aspect was more in tune with the modern revival of paganism, witchcraft and naturalistic lifestyles. Being on any social platform in the modern day, viewers would be able to recognise the influx of these influences especially on younger generations. Described by the exhibition blurb: ‘ As our hyper-networked links shrink into the palm of our hands, a magical impetus is taking hold.’ 

The intersectionality between technological social advances and feminism is a concept I have always associated with body image and similar avenues of conversation, and the dialogue pertaining the interconnectivity between people becoming stronger globally leading to a heightened spiritual and personal development was something I hadn’t realised I had observed. I can’t say for certain how many high impact wiccan influencers had existed in popular media in the past, but I believe there may be a trend in an ever expanding complex nuanced globalisation of media, that in a pendulum swing of identity, fundamental often ritualistic and emotive based practices are making a resurgence with those who are often the most harshly scrutinised by the media. 

I greatly enjoyed this exhibition, perhaps for completely biased reasons, but the content was insightful, critical, engaging, emotive and all encompassing of the modern British experience. It did vastly alter my perceptions not only on contemporary art, but also in choices in curation/ curatorial methodology, alongside providing me a better insight into how our environment shapes artistic  products. This I believe spans further than Contemporary Art, as it furthers my awareness for different more long spanning periods of time. I hope that moving forward I can apply this to older works from differing regions, and garner a more human appreciation for the works, rather than seeing them as a fixed and separate piece of material divorced from my life and experiences. 

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Bibliography

Morning Edition (2013) ‘Washington, D.C: NPR’ The Thatcher Era's Effect On British Music 

Informal Section 

I was brought oh so very close to tears and did in fact walk though a total of 7 times through the exhibition. Noel fielding's paintings ?????? A mask from Dave Brown ?????? A script by Richard Ayoade and Mathew Holness ?!?!??!???!??!? Haroon Mirzas Little Techno Things !?!?!?!?!?!?! The stars aligned to make me look like a creep and despite boring my friends out of their minds and perhaps pulling my zygomaticus Major, I can not to date name a more fun thing to have witnessed.

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External Visit 2/2

A Trip to The Basement Arts Project

Basement Arts Project 

As a cohort we were able to explore the contemporary art infused in the city of Leeds. By visiting locations such as The Basement Art Project, I was able to extend my understandings of the fundamentals of contemporary art from an area I had never journeyed to before. 

The structure of this blog entry will explore the contemporary art visited, and then draw to a final conclusion on how the exposure of these topics has developed my personal understanding of contemporary art in the modern world. 

The Basement Arts Project 

Outdoor Exhibition 

The Basement Art Project tour was led by Bruce Davis, homeowner of the basement (and the attached house) .The outdoor sculpture we were first introduced to in our trip was named ‘Jacobs Ladder’ by artist Keith Ackerman, drawing reference to a bridging of heaven and Earth, found in religious scriptures such as the Bible and Qur'an, more information on this sculpture can be found HERE .  

A key element that Bruce had emphasised in the significance of this piece was the engagement with the public, anyone was welcome to interact and contribute to the piece; this promotes a more open relationship with a community that is not as immersed in the arts. 

The influence this would have on a less economically or socially advantaged area would provide the inhabitants something to show regional pride with, I believe that the influence that this immersion can have on people who live locally is vastly more significant than that of tourists, as to have a constant reaffirming structure to add a further positive depth in a less advantaged area really boosts morale. Thinking back to the immediate region around the home I grew up in where there were no public artistic expressions, and the majority of public spaces like parks felt unwelcoming and antisocial to myself and others, I can understand how to know there is something to engage with that encompasses everyone would brighten the general atmosphere. 

Next in our tour we had the opportunity to view work by artist Loane Bobillier, whose work can be found HERE, below is an image taken from her exhibition ‘Nature vs Nurture’. 

Bruce allowing young art students to have accessible spaces to exhibit their art reaffirms prior ideas of allowing those without connections, wealth or privilege to garner experience in the arts. 

By bringing art into his home, not only does this provide unique atmosphere and tone, but also an interpersonal connection between host and artist. In more ‘credible’ establishments, such as national or regional galleries, there can often be a disconnect between the two, so to be able to communicate key themes, ideas, goals and aspirations, both the physical environment and the marketing of the artists work can be more catered to the artists vision and intent. 

Another asset to the location was how Bruce had explained the inclusion of his family into his interests, his children having a part in the lives and works of the artists and having exposure to that environment in my opinion is flattering to a young mind in an ever evolving artistic community. Although this experience is a unique one, I believe the later life impact it will have on those children will allow them a more ingrained perspective in many different aspects of society, and if this practice were to be more wide spread, how the next generation interact with creativity and teamwork will only strengthen. 

The theme of the exhibition of Bobillers’ was her experience through her life in moving through different countries, and how each one demanded a new set of rules and ways of life that she never had the time to assimilate to. The way in which she embodied these emotions was by repeating this sphere and cube motif with organic or hyper-inorganic materials. Through experimentation she had felt that no matter what texture, surface or composition these objects were placed in, they always stuck out or felt disjointed with their surroundings. 

Through her use of medium, aided with her own explanation about the representation of her work and the life journey she had undertaken to reach these ideas, I felt that through this tour I was able to understand more on the nature of installation art. 

To Conclude, installation art was originally a topic I was unfamiliar with, first approaching works by artists like Duchamp I felt a disconnect between installation work and an individual personal experience, believing it was more catered towards having its’ own interpretation per viewer. Although this could be said for the work of Bobiller, I believe through hearing her personal experience and how this manifested into the work she produced, the human connection between artist and work had been established in this medium. Following this, when reading on the work and influence of Louise Bourgeois, I felt again this connection, and I think that through this exploration I am able to access the artists personal tone in the work rather than seeing all installation as a general and flexible metaphor. 

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A Group Discussion

A visit by Stephen Sheehan on Contemporary Art 

WARNING: Mentions of death 

Introduction 

During the module we had a guest visit by Stephen Sheehan, whose career portfolio can be found HERE. 

Stephen is a well credited artist, who has featured in Biennials and has a long career spanning through various different forms media. The immediate atmosphere of the lecture was established as a lighter conversational tone, as he opened up opinion and dialogue between students early on. 

Talking to the class 

Asking the pupils whether they enjoyed or appreciated contemporary art was a more loaded topic than I was prepared for on a Thursday afternoon, opening both avenues for conversation and discontent among opposing opinions. There were two main modes of thought in the discussion, which lay between disliking contemporary art, for its absence of values and integrity in comparison to more classical modes of art, and being in favour of contemporary art for its more modern and open interpretations and application. Unlike where discussion has occurred in the past within the structure of conversational debate, the contemporary art discussion arose a different sort of polarisation within opinion that I disliked greatly. 

Personal opinion 

My personal stance is that I am not a fan of contemporary work, this is not however a reflection on the quality, impact, thoughtfulness and tact of contemporary art (which will be explored later), but for the way it often morphs normal people into The People With The Singular Correct Answer. For the same reason I dislike most art without direct manual labour and skill, as soon as an intellectual vantage can be gained, whether it be one side not appreciating classical references and historic value, or the other not acknowledging deeper thinking and context in the modern world, many people find that they suddenly are aware of something the other side doesn’t fathom to appreciate. (This does not however encompass my opinion of each work within certain categories, and there will be a range of art considered contemporary that I love very dearly such as the work of Haroon Mirza, while still disliking contemporary art as a collective label, his work elicits a great joy to me). 

I worry I wasn’t able to express this in person during this lesson, half out of fear of unifying both sides against me, and looking retrospectively even now in the safety of my own room I can feel the Us versus Them-edness of the matter seeping into my words. 

Stephen Sheehan’s Contemporary Art 

Stephen punctuated in the lecture that the reason behind many of his works were to personally express complex emotions and ideas with a satirical and definite tone. The most poignant of the work shown was ‘Playing Badminton with my Dad’ shown below :

By producing this triptych Stephen was able to communicate the loss of his father to himself and his own subconscious. This altered one of my perceptions that the majority of contemporary art, particularly performance art, was adjacent with performative values and audience engagement. The idea that Stephens’ work had a goal of reflection for himself was a very interesting avenue of influence, I believe this has provided a more empathetic perspective on performance art that I did not previously consider.

Class discussion

Discussion with the class had then pivoted to the evolving intersection of art, technology and the real human experience. Instances where with enough input, AI could recreate or predict mannerisms of real people, and hypothetically this could recreate or replace a conversation with people we know. This was a topic I had prior interest in, and brought me to reassess points made by individuals such as guest speaker Mark Roughly, whose professional profile can be found HERE. As someone with a background in computer science, as soon as I meet an intersection between art and the sciences I feel immediately more engaged. Being able to link topics that I can be comfortable interacting with without fear or too much imposter syndrome like AI with art and expression of which I am still often cautious was a great personal branch. 

The cyclical nature of the talk came back to themes of mortality, and if by replicating the mannerism of the deceased through medium of AI could we hypothetically immortalise them in the digital world. This reminded me of the amazing performance by Hatsune Miku and her team in ‘The End’, a link to such can be found HERE. This performance was greatly ingrained in my head during my childhood, and the themes still have a strong resonance with this conversation. The plight of Miku not being granted a death in the way we are, and the disconnect the vocaloid would hypothetically feel at its inadequacy to reproduce authentic human manner to be specific.

It has always been my stance that this approach has been affirmed by the fact that even though it is a computer solely depicting the desire to become human, it is still a reality produced and manufactured from the minds of people, as Miku emphasises in the operatic version of the performance, every word and sound that is inputted into her ability is performed perfectly, often to an inhuman extent. Where I believe this is challenged in the modern AI conversation is the ability for the intelligence to progress to a stage where there is secondary tertiary and beyond products too far detached from the original human action to be considered a direct influence. This level of autonomy is what I’d hoped to engage with during this lecture, and from peer observation I think my opinion as of the moment lies with reproducibility, I do not believe that anything should (in the world of media within context of AI and personage) be considered an exact duplicate or substitute, rather stressed that it is an imitation of the original.

Conclusions 

I believe having such a social and engaging discussion with others broadened my perspective on both contemporary art and future innovations in the technological world, although I still dislike Contemporary art, I feel a greater understanding to all sides of the conversation, and hope to develop this dialogue over time.

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Studio Practice

Studio Trip to The Royal Standard, Liverpool 

Within the first few weeks of the module, as a group we visited the artists studios of The Royal Standard. In this post I aim to analyse how this trip influenced my understanding of the function of Artist Studios, and how they in turn effect the work of an artist. 

WARNINGS: no warnings applicable 

Starting the guided visit at TRS, we entered through the main doors at the front, where amenities such as a café, toilets and gift shop were available, each section accessible via ramp with moderate spacing from an accessibility stand point. We were introduced to Elizabeth Challinor, whose professional description and roles can be found HERE  . As a curator and artist in the Liverpool area, alongside a volunteer for TSR, she held both the understanding from an artists perspective and an industry perspective to navigate us on the importance of similar studios and their availability. 

Looking through the current contemporary installation allowed us as a group to make the bridge from the beginning of the practice of the artist, and the final product the public have access to, working almost in reverse from the end goal to the production process and the support structures behind it. 

We then had the opportunity to stop in a communal space for the practicing artists, decorated with some chairs and a loom, here we were informed on the process, price points, availability and importance of artists studio spaces. 

The waiting list to gain access to a space in this facility is an extremely long one, but this is as a result of the well known name of the company, the space provided and competitive pricing of its facilities. Artists have always traditionally moved to more reasonably priced areas, but due to a clash in infrastructure and resources with the gentrification* of well networked areas, to rent out space in cities such as Liverpool can come with ever less reasonable budgets for art students. The importance of reasonable pricing alongside being in an area of good resource and connectivity was further emphasised by similar facilities provided to Fine Art students at LJMU. 

The ability to maintain a part time or full time job is very important to a vast majority of individuals in the arts, so having a studio space that is easily commutable would further promote active engagement with their practices. This importance was further enhanced by the 24 hour availability of the building, meaning it was flexible to all different work shifts. This is where the facilities at LJMU lack support; although there are reasonable purpose for time constraints on the university building  (staffing, safety etc), with being further exposed to different functions of artists studios, I believe a block of 9am-5pm for studio work to lead to a less functional and proactive stance in work, especially from a group of majority young students who will need to undertake part time jobs to support their studies. Whether this is an issue that is possible to resolve I am unsure, though with the new perspective from TRS on the adjustments made for artists, it is now a barrier that I had yet to observe. 

By the end of the external visit to TRS, I had further explored the necessity of art studio space and the extent of which such services are desired in my home city. Before the trip I had not fully understood the demand for artist studio space, but by observing how individual artists explore their own creative outputs and methods, I can understand why a space not liable to damage or confines, more surrounded by an individuals practice can promote a relationship between artist and their creativity. 

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*Gentrification -  “the process by which a place, especially part of a city, changes from being a poor area to a richer one, where people from a higher social class live” (Cambridge Dictionary)