I don't usually write about exhibtions- but I felt I had to with this one. Last weekend, I visited Somerset House to see their exhibition: The Horror Show! The show takes you through the last five decades of modern British Culture through the themes: Monster, Ghost and Witch.
Why I am writing about it? Honestly, sometimes I find it hard to sum up my influences- I usually talk about artists and prints that I like. But this captured my childhood and what has made me, me. Every morbid, unsettling, cult classic that I had enjoyed from my childhood and really, not felt that anyone else had noticed, was here in the exhibition. From Roald Dahl's film version of 'The Witches' to The Prodigy's tormented music videos.
Again, why am I writing about his? The exhibition moved me and validated my interests. I have always been drawn to the darker side of pop culture and, as a child, spent my Sundays watching Stephen King films with my cousin and listening to heavy metal music. I obsessed over anything with ghosts and would force my mum to take me witch hunting in the woods. I guess I just wanted to highlight this because the exhibition gives context to my work and who I am.
"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. "
Thanks for listening. Go see the exhibition.
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