The Cult of Beauty is a free exhibition currently on at the Wellcome Collection. It’s a venue I don’t get to as much as I would like as their shows are always worth seeing.
The Cult of Beauty offers a diverse and wide-ranging view of the concept of beauty and how it has evolved over millennia. There’s way too much to cover here so I’ll focus on the mixed media installation “It makes no sense being beautiful if no-one is ugly” by Makeupbrutalism (Eszter Magyar),
Magyar works as a makeup artist using the glossy language of fashion to pose her questions. Photos use the features of a traditional young white pretty woman (is it herself?) to create thought-provoking images.
The mirror at the centre states the dilemma many of us (mainly women and girls) feel about makeup and the pressure of “beauty”.
You’re always left with the feeling that you’ve never got it quite “right”.
The thing is, if it’s in fashion now, it will be out of fashion pretty soon.
There are no answers here, just questions to ponder and beautifully (that concept again) produced images and objects
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I chose one exhibit to talk about but could have selected at least a dozen others. It’s a show packed with interest.