Somerset House’s latest exhibition, Cute, is a must-visit for any adult child of the internet age, or indeed any parent of the internet age. The interactive, oppressively stimulating exhibition seeks to explore the “irresistible rise of cuteness in contemporary culture”, charting its history and its grip on the digital world, as well as its darker, more complex facets.
Visitors are led through everything sweet and kawaii (a Japanese word that roughly translates to 'adorable'), from the first documented cat memes way back in the 1870s (yes, they have existed since the first days of photography), to Hello Kitty contact lenses, prettied-up gargoyles and Oxycontin pill plushies. Aw.
Hello Kitty is a running theme. The exhibition pays tribute to the Japanese mascot’s 50th year of existence with a display of bizarre collectibles and a “Hello Kitty disco”, complete with gargantuan glitter ball and mirrored walls (Sanrio was, as you might expect, a major funder of the show).
It's just one of many immersive aspects of the exhibition: others include a “sleepover room” curated by PC Music and hyperpop artist Hannah Diamond, a gaming arcade and a sort of dancemat installation. But don't be fooled - this is not one of those “Instagram experiences” or dopamine caves set up to line the camera rolls of tourists and phone-fixated teenagers. There is more than meets the eye with Cute, which drips insidiously into your brain the sickly, syrupy power of cuteness to reveal its inextricable links to capitalism and emotional manipulation.
That said, it is still deeply fun, and yes, it does look great on Instagram. “People will still do that,” Dr Cliff Lauson, Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House, tells me, knowingly. But that’s just human, we agree, as I stroke one of the exhibit’s furry walls.
It is also, at times, a lot - and that’s the point. Everywhere you turn you can hear a mishmash of upbeat music and kawaii giggles, and every 90 seconds you hear the telltale “brrp” that plays at the end of a TikTok video. As you venture further in, there is the sound of sirens, heavy breathing, and a score fit for a horror movie.
Apart from the dark ending (which is incongruously followed by a Hello Kitty-stuffed gift shop), the kids will love it, even if they don’t know what any of it means yet, and parents will find it sickeningly interesting. But it’s the young adults, who grew up with a mishmash of Neopets, Tamagotchis, social media, memes and video games, who will appreciate it the most - especially if they visit when the little ones are less likely to be there. Yes, I did just pop two paracetamol, but much like a hangover, it’s merely the price of a good time.
