Today, J and I went along to Tate Britain as she was interested in one of their current exhibitions – the Gothic Nightmares. The exhibition is themed on the supernatural and on terror with the focus being on the paintings and drawings and influence of Henry Fuseli. For most of the rooms I meticulously looked at each and every piece read every accompanying description. In most cases I could see that the description was very apt so in this sense the exhibition was fabulous in explaining each piece of work. As a result I’m not sure how much added value the audio tour would would have been. There are eight rooms in total with an entire room dedicated to Fuseli’s The Nightmare, which has not only been copied and lampoony times but has been used for the inspiration for horror movies, including Dracula and Frankenstein. For those interested in gothic art this is an exhibition you should definitely attend.

This is actually the first time I’ve stepped into the Tate Britain after all my time in London (yes, a little bit shameful) so it was the perfect opportunity to explore what else it had to offer. I’m not sure how often the collections are turned over if at all but the collections currently on display at the Tate cover British Art from the 1500s-1900s (Historic) and from the 1900s on (Modern.) The Historic displays, while I’m sure contain some important displays including two rooms dedicated to John Constable and the extremely popular Millais’ Ophelia, I found myself more drawn to the Modern displays. I find it absolutely fascinating what passes for art these days. One of the more interesting displays, and I’ve attached a photo to the right, was Chris Ofili: The Upper Room (on display until 1 May.) It is easy to miss so be on the look out for it in room 30. You walk into a room and take a left to walk down a lit corridor and when you turn the corner you are confronted with a chapel-like room. Low warm lighting with thirteen paintings lining the walls. The description suggests that the arrangement of the paintings represents Christ and his Apostles. There is also talk of it representing civilization vs untamed nature, and the religious vs the secular. Hmm .. that is certainly much deeper than I would have thought but stepping into the room definitely gave me some sort of chill.

Overall, the general collection at the Tate was probably a little outside of my usual tastes and as a result I can’t see myself returning too often. However, the visit wasn’t too bad for one as art-illiterate as me and definitely wouldn’t turn down the next interesting exhibition.