Learned Society of Extra Ordinary Objects

Weird but fun exhibition at Somerset House by designers Clarke and Clerkin.

The premise of this show was that the Learned Society of Extra Ordinary Objects had been based in Somerset House until it went bankrupt and its collection was seized in 1973. The society had believed that ordinary objects have value if we know their story. The whole thing was presented as if real so it was hard to distinguish what was real and what was made up.

The first rooms of the show reflected the history of the society with recreations of possible portraits of members, and a reproduction of the Gin Bar which had started as a floating bar on the river serving various organisations in Somerset House. I loved a story about the India Club Courtyard Cricket Competition played between societies where the aim wasn’t to score runs but to break the windows of the other societies. All very imaginative.

I loved a pool table of coloured objects arranged in like colour to produce a wonderful rainbow effect.

The second half of the show invited 30 artists to become 21st century fellows and contribute objects to recreate the collection. Some had entered the spirit and made up weird items but some presented real objects, I think! For example one artist had put forward a cross between a man’s shoe and a flip flop but another had a surveyors chain. All the objects made you question what was real.

Closes on 3 September 2017

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