Not Without My Ghosts: The Artist As Medium

Abstract painting of black and blue waves. Above the waves is an sun-like image with closed eyes and eyebrows. On top of the waves there are several wavy lines in orange, green, blue and white and floral imagery.

Abstract painting with muticoloured imagery and a blue background

Vidya Gastaldon, Healing Painting (Désastre Mauve), 2016 (detail). Photo © Claire Dorn. Courtesy Of The Artists & Art Concept, Paris

Ann Churchill, Blue Oval Drawing, 1975 Courtesy the artist Image credit David Bebber

From William Blake to Susan Hiller, artists have long found fascination with the idea of forces beyond those accepted by the modern world.

Not Without My Ghosts explored how art has continued to be inspired by the practices of mediums and spiritualists and the deep cultural history they represent. Featuring work from the 19th century to the present day, the exhibition looked at how artists’ engagement with séances, channelling, automatic writing and other paranormal investigations has changed over time.

The exhibition brought together paintings, works on paper, installation, video and animation by 25 international artists. For some, their work acts as evidence of another realm of existence, while others harness the power of the unseen and uncanny to explore the ambiguities of the world around them.

Not Without My Ghosts included work by Noviadi Angkasapura, William Blake, Cameron, Ann Churchill, Ithell Colquhoun, Louise Despont, Casimiro Domingo, Madame Fondrillon, Chiara Fumai, Vidya Gastaldon, Madge Gill, Susan Hiller, Barbara Honywood, Georgiana Houghton, Augustin Lesage, Pia Lindman, Ann Lislegaard, Grace Pailthorpe, František Jaroslav Pecka, Olivia Plender, Sigmar Polke, Lea Porsager, Austin Osman Spare, Emma Talbot and Suzanne Treister with The Museum of Blackhole Spacetime Collective.

Not Without My Ghosts: The Artist As Medium is a Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition from Southbank Centre, London, developed in partnership with Drawing Room, London.