Contrary Life

Contrary Life is a website covering quirky events across the UK.

  • Home
  • About
  • Events by region
    • North East
    • North West
    • Yorkshire
    • East Midlands
    • West Midlands
    • East
    • London
    • South East
    • South West
    • Scotland
    • Northern Ireland
    • Wales
Home > Art > Walk into a novel at the Dairy Art Centre

Walk into a novel at the Dairy Art Centre

By Caroline King - October 24, 2013Posted in : Art, Exhibition, FEATURED-STORIES

Island exhibition - Dairy Art Centre - Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #150, 1985

When: On until 8th December 2013

Where: Dairy Art Centre, 7a Wakefield Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1PG

£: Free

What is it?

Island is the final book published by Aldous Huxley in 1962.  The protagonist of the book is Will Farnaby, a cynical journalist, who is shipwrecked on Pala, a fictional island. Huxley’s novel is the inspiration for the Dairy Art Centre’s latest exhibition, also called Island.

Entering the exhibition is like walking into the novel itself, from start to finish you go through sounds, emotions and sights that connect you with the novel’s character Farnaby.  Constructed as multiple, unfolding chapters, of a novel, the Island exhibition captures various moments in Huxley’s 1962 book.

Island exhibition - Dairy Art Centre - Ann Craven

Ann Craven, Hello Hello Hello, 2002 Middle Triptych

In the enclavic and psychic setting of Pala, new criteria for “value” lie in harmony, personal fulfillment, arts, architecture and the imagination.  Eccentric solutions are found to old social problems, one regulator being the use of psychedelic drugs, tantra, rock climbing, multiple family structures, and collective and individual healing sessions.

Island celebrates both the psychedelic Sixties, the dissolution of conventional Western mores and identities, and the rise of new forms of awareness. As a novel, it is also a cautionary tale of the mindless exploitation of resources.

The exhibition follows the transformative steps of Bloomsbury-born protagonist Will Farnaby, observer, actor and catalyst.  Within Island, Farnaby’s transformation is loosely organised around the intertwined experiences of crash, awakening, abundance, and self-betrayal.

More info: dairyartcentre.org.uk and www.facebook.com/dairyartcentre

Related Posts

  • It's Showtime for the Cloud Dance Festival
  • Dead good thinking with xHumed
  • Sonic art for the visually minded
  • Heartfelt work in Horrorshow
  • Street and outsider artists come together for Go Hard or Go Home exhibition

Tagged With: Aldous Huxley, Dairy Art Centre, Free events, London, London events

Curiosity of the Week

Woodhenge, Stonehenge’s lesser-known neighbour
Woodhenge - ©English Heritage, Historic England Photo Library

You have heard of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, but have you heard of its lesser known neighbour, Woodhenge? Find out more in our latest Curiosity of the Week…

Top Story

What to see at Edinburgh Fringe
Speed Dial, Credit Harry Plowden

Thinking of rounding your summer off with a trip to Edinburgh Fringe? Here’s a few suggestions of shows to see while you’re there…

What are you looking for today?

  • Alternative Sport
  • Art
  • Cabaret and Circus
  • Cinema
  • Classes, Workshops & Talks
  • Club Night
  • Comedy
  • Dance
  • Exhibitions and Installations
  • Fairs and Markets
  • Festival
  • Food & Drink
  • Heritage and History
  • Interview
  • Literature
  • Museum
  • Music
  • Nature and Outdoors
  • Review
  • Science and Technology
  • Theatre
  • Walks and Tours

Sign up to our Newsletter

Copyright © 2022 · Contrary Life