Cracked

Innovative exhibition at Charleston Farmhouse looking at hidden histories of madness through 12 people connected to Charleston.

Developed by the Mad Heritage Collective it consisted of a round table to resemble the one in the dining room of the house, with shards of plates which you place on four place settings to make whole dishes, and that activates sound sculptures and readings via headphones. Each shard has an image of one of the 12 people associated with the house and their design mirrors the Famous Women Dinner Service on show in the next room.

Around the walls are poems made up of text from cut up books responding to the stories. I later found a booklet in the café giving more information on each of the people. I'm not sure if I missed that in the space or if it had been closed down for the night as I was there for an event after hours and I’d snuck onto the welcome space before you go into the house to see this installation. I'll need to go again.

Closes 6 September 2026

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