I was fortunate to travel down to London in March to attend the Cute Exhibition on at Sommerset House. Contributing artists included; Mark Leckey, Sean-Kierre Lyons, AYA TAKANO, Mike Kelley, Karen Kilimnik, Nayland Blake, Cosima von Bonin, Hannah Diamond, Ed Fornieles, Juliana Huxtable, Rachel Maclean, Julien Ceccaldi, Paige K. B., Isaac Lythgoe, Alake Shilling, Wong Ping, Liv Preston, CFGNY, Ram Han, Maggie Lee, Bunny Rogers, Flannery Silva, Andy Holden, Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Sin Wai Kin and Sian Fan.
Going to this exhibition with the idea of looking for unique ways to display work at an exhibition, my mind was taken over by the incredibly cute and nostalgic art works. So, while writing this blog about how the Cute exhibition was curated please forgive me if I’m distracted by the cuteness!
Upon arriving at the exhibition, the visitor is greeted by a giant statue of Hello Kitty: if you’re reading this blog you definitely know who she is. The giant cat forms as a ‘picture perfect’ spot with everyone wanting their photograph taken with the famous cat. I thought this was an amazing asset to the marketing of the exhibition as it was strategically placed in front of the gallery as when taking photos the building is positioned in the background. The nostalgia of viewers meeting THE Hello Kitty encourages them to post on social media and share with friends and family- another great marketing tactic. This has inspired me to think about including a photo opportunity at future exhibitions and to concentrate on marketing strategies where social media play a role as society now uses Instagram 24/7.
As soon as you walk in you are greeted with pure cuteness: cats dressed as different characters including the Cute exhibition mascot, a unicorn cat. You’ve not even paid for your ticket yet and already there is cuteness overload! Even the frames were funky and fitted in with the atmosphere without overpowering the image inside. The frames were grey and furry but also 3D and slightly puffy, cute frames to go with cute cat images!
Going into the exhibition each room was completely different making the experience exciting and each walk way between the rooms had been carefully thought out to match the vibe of the connecting rooms, including rainbow and fluffy monster archways. There were gaming rooms, calming bean bag areas, even a multicoloured FLUFFY LIFT!!! A teenager’s dream!
My favourite curated room was the first room visitors walk into, where visitors are greeted by the exhibitors’ opening statement printed on the wall which is very trendy and common at the moment in galleries. In this room there is a small painting of a cat on a giant wall surrounded by pink fabric and a chaise-lounge. I think this is a very creative way of displaying artwork as viewers are able to study and focus mainly on the artwork, it also almost feels calming. The opposite wall is completely different which is fun and exciting: the viewer is stared down by a vast amount of cat statues in a big glass box, CRAZY!
Overall, I really enjoyed each part of the Cute exhibition in London and it has given me many ideas of how I might display my images including using fabric and complementary frames. The one thing I would critique about this exhibition is although there were many photo opportunities for visitors to pose with, the lighting was dull and unflattering therefore there were many photos I didn’t post on my personal Instagram. This has allowed me to think about how I might light my own work in exhibitions. However, this critique can be overshadowed by all the irresistible cats, LOL. This exhibition is too cute not to visit so please go support this exhibition at Sommerset House in London!!!