This is a classic of doing too much or too little- an exhibition that promises but doesn’t deliver. The Body Adorned is about the dressing of Londoners (and others)- but if you didn’t know the theme, you’d be hard pressed to guess.
It has several parts- a selection of the Horniman’s anthropological objects, a multimedia show, and a collection of modern photographs and clothing. Neither of these are uninteresting-they just aren’t joined up, and the display so light on challenge that nothing comes from it.
Victorian and colonial anthropology has a bad rap- and rightly so- and this does little to address it. The figures greeting you whilst you come in are examples of this- preserved by Empire from people around the world- but how do they link with the modern slideshow of Londoners and teens? Why are they below the slides? Are they less important? More importantly, why are they here, and how are we meant to read them?
This remains throughout the exhibition- are these anthropological artifacts? If so, then why so little context? This makes them little better than the Victorian displays- a cabinet of curios for your delectation.
And if they have aesthetic values- why not display them as such? Can we not appreciate them as voyeurs- must they be studied?
The modern slideshows and photos are voyeurism of the highest kind- and interesting as such- although they have a self-selection problem, the films choosing those deemed film-worthy and edited. The photographs and ‘modern’ wardrobes are also representative of those willing to take part in such a survey. Why these people?
The answers, unfortunately, are political- they represent the London modern capitalism wants to see- and the Olympics want to represent. A London not of communities, but of individuals making their own way and doing their own thing, entitled and buying. Everyone together and bought in to the status quo. Even the homeless man is edited and portrayed like it is a lifestyle choice. No communities were named, harmed or even challenged in this exhibition.
The Horniman is better than this exhibition- if you want to see modern Londoners and what influences them, you’d be better off in the cafe.
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