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

Landing at Somerset House this Halloween is The Horror Show, a major exhibition examining how ideas rooted in horror have shaped the past five decades of creative rebellion in Britain.

Organised in three thematic sections — Monster, Ghost and Witch — the show brings together over 200 artworks and artefacts from some of the country’s most provocative artists, including Jake and Dinos Chapman, Monster Chetwynd and Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

The Monster section explores the economic, social and political turbulence of the 1970s and 80s as well as the monsters which plague society today. Don’t miss Jamie Reid’s Monster on a Nice Roof (1972), featuring dark skies gathering over Britain, and Noel Fielding’s Post-Viral Fatigue (2022), which explores the enduring impact of Covid on our contemporary reality.

Ghost takes you on journey through the collapse of hyperinflated 80s culture to the global financial crisis of 2008, while Witch celebrates the emergence of the younger generation’s hyper-connected community and the cultural influence of modern sorcery.

Collectively, these works reveal how horror can help us make sense of the world around us and imagine a radically different future. It’s an intoxicating deep-dive into counter-culture, the mystic and uncanny.