The art show at the gallery explores how modern architecture has been linked with horror in popular culture.

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This article was written by Ayshwarya Suresh and published on uni.xyz, a platform for design professionals and creative thinkers.

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This article covers topics related to Installations, Exhibition Design. Contemporary artists are using their work to shine a light on the more haunting aspects of building design.

Contemporary artists are using their work to shine a light on the more haunting aspects of building design.

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Ayshwarya Suresh published Story under Installations, Exhibition Design on Oct 13, 2022

The new exhibition will feature work by 20 contemporary artists that explore the relationship between modern architecture and horror. By doing this, the exhibition sets out to question how our built environment can shape our emotions and perceptions.

Team2122022 10 13T17 21 57 497217 Still from Maria Taniguchi's film Mies 421, which is part of the Ikon Gallery's Horror in the Modernist Block show

The show at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery will include a variety of mediums such as film, installations, photography, sculpture, textiles, sound and printmaking. The gallery is based in the Victorian grade II-listed former Oozells Street School, which was converted by Levitt Bernstein Architects.

Team2122022 10 13T17 22 37 032423 Still from Ho Tzu Nyen's film The Cloud of Unknowing, which is part of the Ikon Gallery's Horror in the Modernist Block show

Horror and modern architecture have always been closely linked, according to curator Melanie Pocock. She points to the work of author JG Ballard as a prime example of this connection, specifically his 1975 dystopian novel High-Rise.

"Some people love buildings in the modernist style, while others don't," she said.

“Some people see them as architectural icons; others see them as haunting relics of failed concepts and bygone eras.”

Team2122022 10 13T17 23 18 680199 Horror in the Modernist Block features If Socks Aren't Pulled Up Heads Will Roll, by Richard Hughes Source: Nils Stærk

Pocock noted that in some areas of the globe, modernist architecture can trigger feelings of fear and trauma due to its association with oppressive political regimes.

The Horror in the Modernist Block studies how a building's design and features can not only influence people's movement and perception, but also their deepest fears.

Team2122022 10 13T17 23 42 624652 The Directorate, by Shezad Dawood, is one of the works that will be exhibited as part of the Ikon Gallery's Horror in the Modernist Block show. Source: Sharjah Art Foundation

The featured artists for this event are Maria Taniguchi, Ho Tzu Nyen, Richard Hughes, Shezad Dawood, Ruth Claxton, and Diego Marcon.

The Ikon Gallery in Birmingham will be hosting the Horror in the Modernist Block exhibition from 25 November to 1 May. Entry is free, so come and check it out if you're interested in modernist art with a dark twist!