Not Without My Ghosts: The Artist As Medium

Ann Churchill, Blue Oval Drawing, 1975. Courtesy the artist. Image by David Bebber

Thursday 31 March 2022 - Sunday 26 June 2022

From William Blake to Susan Hiller, artists have long found fascination with the idea of forces beyond those accepted by the modern world. Not Without My Ghosts explores how art has continued to be inspired by the practices of mediums and spiritualists and the deep cultural history they represent. Featuring work from the 19th century to the present day, the exhibition looks at how artists’ engagement with séances, channelling, automatic writing and other paranormal investigations has changed over time.

The exhibition brings together paintings, works on paper, installation, video and animation by 25 international artists. For some, their work acts as evidence of another realm of existence, while others harness the power of the unseen and uncanny to explore the ambiguities of the world around them.

Not Without My Ghosts includes work by Noviadi Angkasapura, William Blake, Cameron, Ann Churchill, Ithell Colquhoun, Louise Despont, Casimiro Domingo, Madame Fondrillon, Chiara Fumai, Vidya Gastaldon, Madge Gill, Susan Hiller, Barbara Honywood, Georgiana Houghton, Augustin Lesage, Pia Lindman, Ann Lislegaard, Grace Pailthorpe, František Jaroslav Pecka, Olivia Plender, Sigmar Polke, Lea Porsager, Austin Osman Spare, Emma Talbot and Suzanne Treister with The Museum of Blackhole Spacetime Collective.

'[A] fascinating celebration of ethereal forces'
The Guardian Exhibition of the Week

'An exploration of the otherworldly in art... fascinating'
The i

'The show's roster includes historical heavyweights and forgotten pioneers'
Apollo

'Revelatory'
RA Magazine

'Radical'
Financial Times

Not Without My Ghosts: The Artist As Medium is a Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition from Southbank Centre, London, developed in partnership with Drawing Room, London.