Gothic Imagination

Last weekend my best friend and I went to see a wonderful exhibition called The Gothic Imagination: Terror and Wonder, held at the British Library. My excitement was a result of the combination of two of my favourite things: anything macabre, and literature. 

In anticipation, I couldn't have imagined that the exhibition would be so vast; it was so unexpected to find everything from Edmund Spenser's 'The Faerie Queen' to short clips from cult horror films. Just about every era in art, film and literature were covered - the evidence of gothic literature was to be seen everywhere, even if it was small. I really felt like I was in a time machine of all things dark. I left really wanting to write my own gothic novel or poem drawing from a range of all these influences.

Admittedly, it's so difficult to choose what my favourite things to see were - there was way too much to soak in. An Alexander McQueen dress, Charlotte Bronte's original manuscript of Jane Eyre, a letter from the supposedly real Jack The Ripper to the police, and the first publication of Dorian Gray would have to be some of my favourite things to have seen. Yet aesthetically, what I found most interesting to look at was the paintings. Henry Fuseli's 'The Nightmare' (below) was so beautiful to see in real life.

Though I could have easily chosen to wore something suitably all-black to such an exhibition, I had been dying to wear this Romwe jumper of Botticelli's Birth Of Venus. When's a more appropriate time to wear a full painting on an article of clothing than to an art exhibition? The photos don't quite capture the vibrancy of the colours; there's almost a metallic sheen to the fabric.

you'll have to forgive these photos, they're absolutely awful as I couldn't get any good ones! 

Jacket: Asos (men)

Jumper: Romwe

Mom Jeans: Bershka 

This would have to be one of the best exhibitions I've ever been to: and for £5 an adult ticket, well worth it for the multitude of things on show of British history; not just specific to the gothic! 

Anna