Michael Landy's 'Future Ruins' Exhibition at Sir John Soane's Museum Imagines Decaying Architecture

Michael Landy presents his 'Future Ruins' series at Sir John Soane's Museum from October 14, 2026, to January 17, 2027. The exhibition features watercolour and pen drawings depicting iconic structures in imagined states of decay. Landy's meticulous draughtsmanship envisions ruins of buildings like the New York Stock Exchange, Chatsworth House, and Rome's Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. A new work portrays Sir John Soane's Museum itself as a future ruin. The series was directly inspired by Joseph Michael Gandy's 1798 watercolour 'Architectural Ruins: A Vision', which shows the Bank of England as a Roman ruin and will be displayed alongside Landy's contemporary response. Landy also includes imagined ruins of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence, and personal sites from his childhood in Ilford. The artist reflects on how all structures, regardless of current importance, will eventually crumble. Museum Director Will Gompertz describes the pairing as a perfect meeting of artistic minds across two centuries, both drawn to the romantic notion of ruins. The show highlights Landy's decades-long exploration of capitalism, consumerism, and destruction through architecture's emotional journey from grandeur to decay.