Lazarides Gallery and
The Old Vic Tunnels have joined artistic forces to create the immersive Bedlam exhibition, based on London’s
infamous mental institution Bethlam founded in 1247. Yesterday, I went to visit
the haunting exhibition to see what the hype was about.
The exhibition looks
broadly at mental health and is coined Bedlam
after UK’s oldest mental hospital that was renowned for its brutality and
cruelty. The aim of the exhibition was to artistically explore the legendary
institution, where members of the public could pay to view the unstable
patients rattled in their cages during the 18th century, and all its
horrors.
Bedlam invites you to stumble blindly through
29,000 square feet of underground tunnels, coming across psychedelic kaleidoscopic
light displays on the ceiling to a giant haunting projection of a child’s
dress.
The exhibition had
elements of greatness within the unhinged art, yet also juxtaposed with weaker
conceptual art. However, the venue is incredibly thematic, and it is free to
enter so you should definitely visit should you have the chance.
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