Seven Artists Curate Postwar British History Through Personal Perspectives

The exhibition 'History Is Now' presents a thematic journey through British postwar history curated by seven artists. Simon Fujiwara's display critiques 1990s celebrity culture and New Labour's 'Cool Britannia' with faux-archaeological objects including empty Waitrose herb packets and Sam Taylor-Johnson's video of David Beckham. Jane and Louise Wilson explore architecture and conflict through photographs of Greenham Common protests and models of Victor Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion. Penelope Slinger contributes the surreal psychosexual film 'Lilford Hall' from 1969. Hannah Starkey highlights Arts Council-supported photography from the 1980s and 90s, contrasting gritty images by Paul Graham and the Hackney Flashers with sexist advertising. John Akomfrah selects 17 films emphasizing multiculturalism and eccentricity, featuring works by Gilbert & George and the Lacey Family. Roger Hiorns focuses on variant CJD (Mad Cow Disease) with a detailed chronology that includes Damien Hirst's pickled cow heads 'Out of Sight. Out of Mind.' from 1991. Richard Wentworth addresses Britain's island mentality through coastal themes with art and objects from the 1940s and 50s, including Paul Nash's war paintings 'Totes Meer' (1940–1) and 'Battle of Britain' (1941), Robert Capa's 1944 Normandy landing photographs, a 1960s double saucepan, and a Pye television from the 1953 coronation. The exhibition was reviewed in April 2015.