With a title derived from a verse by Meret Oppenheim, the show aims to explore the gap between discomfort and menace. While these two concepts are oftentimes related, they do not always have a direct causal relationship. Many of the characters in Asian religions prove to be protective beings whose menacing appearance is designed to protect evil. They also serve as vessels of the natural world, and their expressions and depictions as translations of the state of nature.

However, some of these legends, like the ghosts and spirits depicted in the Japanese Yūrei-zu paintings, do take part in damaging actions towards living members of the community.
Scholars trace the roots of these works to the social conditions in the late Edo period in Japan, where natural disasters coupled with restrictive policies and mounting social unrest created a society more permeable to uncomfortable iconography.

Much in the same way, contemporary society and the artists living in it, choose to depict characters, images, and landscapes that do not conform to traditional societal ideals.

Cindy Sherman’s works from the Broken Doll Series were created in a climate of rising conservatism in the US in the late 90s and constitute the first time she photographed in black and white since her Film Still works from 1977-80. This time, Sherman takes herself out of the frame and instead focuses on tortured and abused dolls and toys. These take on positions that are at odds with the seemingly naïve and playful nature of kid’s games and instead evoke a parallel universe, one reminiscent of the haunting world of Hans Bellmer.

Keith Haring, on the other hand, used simple iconography to tap into important socio-political themes, with a focus on complex issues ranging from nuclear weaponry to sexuality, and with particular criticism of the political response to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
The use of figures such as UFOs, animal creatures, or anatomically exaggerated characters responds to the need to make these issues accessible to the public. The simplification of the figures provides a parallel with the usage of the anionic symbol of the linga in ancient India. Haring was innovative in doing so but very much focused on the past, by creating a pictorial universe with roots in movements ranging from pre-Columbian to outsider art.

Without instructing how to deal with the images presented, the artworks shown face the viewer with ambiguous notions in regard to the human and natural condition. These are shown as morally undefined pictorial landscapes containing depictions that evade notions of familiarity, protection, or safety.

Noviadi Angkasapura

Miriam Cahn

Nicholas Campbell

Anders Dickson

Oscar Dominguez

Keith Haring

Soshiro Matsubara

Bruce Nauman

Albert Oehlen

Jessy Razafimandimby

Will Sheldon

Cindy Sherman

Tadashi Toyama

Chase Wilson

Accessible. Ground floor with paid parking area next to venue.

Closest tube stations:

1. Aldgate East - 7 min walk.

2. Whitechapel - 9 min walk.

3. Liverpool Street - 11 min walk.