What does it mean to be beautiful? Throughout history, this difficult query has been always challenged. Across different cultures and times, ideas of beauty have differed and today with the prominence of social media in our culture the cycles of beauty trends have never been so fast. Opening this week on the Wellcome Collection in London, The Cult of Beauty is the last word investigation into this concept. Curated by Janice Li, the show investigates how morality, status, health, age, race and gender have profoundly shaped our evolving notions of beauty throughout history.

Spilt into three clear categories, ‘The Ideals of Beauty’, ‘The Industry of Beauty’ and ‘Subverting Beauty’, the exhibition invites attendees to query preconceived ideas about beauty and interact in a set of labor questioning our understanding of what is taken into account beautiful. With over 200 pieces, artworks and installations the show calls upon contemporary artists like Juno Calypso, J.D. Okhai Ojeikere and Angélica Dass, amongst others, in addition to intriguing recent commissions by artists like Narcissister, Xcessive Aesthetics and more.

The primary section, ‘The Ideals of Beauty’ goes back in time to look at how the will for unattainable ideas of beauty has existed through different times and cultures. A spread of historical objects and figurines including corsets from the 18th century and old Egyptian mirrors from 800-100 BC help draw a parallel between the state of beauty today and centuries prior. A gaggle display, entitled ‘Racialised Beauty’, highlights artefacts from the seventeenth century to more contemporary popular culture moments similar to the discharge of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and provides a timeline of stories of disruption through the years. This section also features contributions from renowned hairstylist Cyndia Harvey, whose film Hair of Mine (2017) can be screened. 

As a key contributor to the curation of the show, author and academic Emma Dabiri’s latest essay Disobedient Bodies is an accompanying text to the exhibition. “I believe there’s a blurring of the lines between female empowerment and autonomy and just reproducing patriarchal norms under the illusion of selection. The alternatives on offer are usually not necessarily liberatory in the event that they’re happening inside a paradigm that’s unhealthy,” she explained to Dazed earlier this month, while discussing the romanticisation of cosmetic procedures.

Elsewhere, ‘Subverting Beauty’ explores the role of beauty in modern society and its potential to disrupt social constructs. Through experiential installations, movies, and sculptural works, it raises questions on our perceptions of beauty.

A movie installation entitled Permissible Beauty (2022), created in collaboration with talented Black artists and creatives, similar to singer-songwriter and art historian David McAlmont, photographer Robert Taylor and filmmaker Mark Thomas will make its museum debut. Confronting the historical absence of Black queer representation, the project delves into the complex dynamics of societal beauty standards. Through compelling portraits of six Black queer individuals, it unveils a fresh narrative within the realm of British beauty, shedding light on the differing perceptions of what’s deemed permissible and helpful in today’s society. 

The ultimate section on ‘The Industry of Beauty’ delves into the complex relationship between medicine and cosmetics, presenting works by artists like Juno Calypso and Makeupbrutalism. Beauty as currency is explored through beauty pageants and cosmetic surgery, as seen in Sarabande resident Artist Shirin Fathi’s project, ‘The Disobedient Nose.’

The exhibition will run until April 28 2024 and is free for all to attend.