Poised to make a spectacular entrance onto London’s stellar art scene is Alice: Curiouser & Curiouser, the V&A’s long-awaited exhibition celebrating one of the most imaginative and inspiring stories of all time.
This immersive and fantastical journey down the rabbit hole charts the evolution of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, from manuscript to global cultural phenomenon beloved by children and adults alike. It also looks at the book’s influence on artists and creatives in the worlds of fashion, film, performance, art, music and photography. Think Salvador Dalí, Yayoi Kusama, The Beatles and Vivienne Westwood, among others.
Standout exhibits include Royal Opera House stage costumes, fashion from Iris van Herpen and photography by Tim Walker. There’s also a mind-bending game of croquet in VR to join and a ‘through the looking glass-inspired’ digital art installation to explore.
Its theatrical sets, immersive environments and VR experiences make this enchanting exhibition best enjoyed IRL with kids or friends in tow. Just don’t be late booking a ticket — they’re selling like hotcakes.
How better to reopen than with a joyful celebration of spring? After a bleak, lockdown winter, the Royal Academy is showing a series of new Hockney iPad ‘paintings’ that capture the unfolding and progression of spring last year at his rural home in Normandy.
Hockney created each of the 116 works (printed on large-scale paper for this show) using a bespoke version of the Brushes app. A restless experimenter, Hockney values the mobility and versality of the iPad, a medium which he first explored back in 2010, as it enables him to work rapidly, day or night en plein air, without needing cumbersome equipment.
Presented chronologically, the works chart the drama of seasonal change, from bare winter trees, via buds, to abundant blossoms and leaves. In each, his hand is clearly evident. ‘All the time I was getting better at my mark making on the screen,’ he says, ‘eventually doing, à la Monet, the water lilies in the pond.’
