Cute Exhibition - Somerset House, London

During a particular time of need to surround myself with lovely cute things, last month I visited the Cute exhibition at Somerset house. 

This exhibition got a lot of hype and has been a bit of an insta special.

Advertised as 'a major new landmark exhibition exploring the irresistible force of cuteness in contemporary culture', and sponsored by Sanrio (where I worked for over 5 years) - well, it felt quite promising from the off.

What I did like about this exhibition was the exploration throughout that there is a strong desire, especially in our current culture, for 'cute'. This has only intensified during the troubling few years the world has undergone.

Cuteness invites us to become playful again, the exhibition stated, giving us a respite from the pressures, anxiety and lets be honest (drudgery) of everyday life. I mean, I can hard relate because I know for a fact as a 34 year old women that is why I am also drawn to cute things. It gives me a huge sense of comfort! 

There were lots of lovely elements dotted around the museum, and some of my favourite pieces were the paper ephemera - Japanese and vintage in nature. I loved the vintage Japanese paper dolls.

For others who may not have spent 5 years in an intimate relationship with Hello Kitty / Sanrio like myself.. the massive Hello Kitty display was probably a lot more fascinating. Personally, I'd seen a lot of it before on exhibition stands at trade shows, and having visited Puroland (Sanrio's answer to Disneyland) in Japan - nothing beats Sanrio in Japan. Honestly. 

Special shout out to the astronaut Hello Kitty's though. Those were epic.

I loved the Mike Kelley display above - a good reminder to visit his exhibition at the Tate Modern this October when that opens. The Sonic Youth Dirty cover has always been one of my favourite album covers!

Overall, would I say this exhibition was worth the hype? I'm not sure. The layout and design of the whole thing I wasn't overly excited about personally. There was a lot of 'space' and I found myself wanting more items! This exhibition could have been jam packed with way more 'stuff'. More of a feast for the eyes. Parts of it felt a little empty and there was so much more ground that could have been covered here.

Don't kill me, but I actually think I preferred the exhibition catalogue!

The exhibition is currently down to run till mid April - though I wouldn't be surprised if they extended it due to the popularity. It must be popular for a reason and I would say it is worth a visit if you can make it.