The Cosmic House: A Postmodern Playground for the Imagination
Turner Prize-winning artist Tai Shani references the deconstructed human form at The Cosmic House in London's Holland Park. Tucked away in the leafy, upscale neighborhood, The Cosmic House is anything but your typical home.
Crafted by the visionary duo Charles and Maggie Jencks between 1978 and 1983, this postmodern marvel is more than just a place to live—it’s a living, breathing testament to their radical approach to life and architecture. The Cosmic House was designed to defy conventions, serving not only as the Jencks family home but also as a buzzing hub of creative and architectural thought. It’s where boundaries were pushed, ideas flowed as freely as the innovative design itself, and postmodernism found its most playful expression.
Now, step into Tai Shani’s latest exhibition, The World to Me Was a Secret: Caesious, Zinnober, Celadon, and Virescent, set within this delightfully unconventional space. Shani, celebrated for her ability to weave together fantasy, mythology, and history, couldn’t have found a more perfect stage for her vibrant, emotionally charged work. It’s a kaleidoscope of color and feeling that seems to dance in harmony with The Cosmic House’s eclectic architecture.
For those familiar with Shani’s work, this exhibition is a masterstroke, perfectly suited to a setting where the line between reality and imagination is deliciously blurred. Adding a personal touch, Shani includes a painting by her aunt—an intimate piece from a zodiac series that represents Scorpio. This subtle gesture nods to the artist’s communal upbringing and the rich creative influences that shaped her. Shani has previously showcased her aunt’s paintings at The Horse Hospital arts venue in London and featured some in her 2019 Turner Prize exhibition. “I was very lucky to grow up in a family where being an artist was completely normal,” Shani reflects. “We definitely share an inner world in many ways. She used to paint for me; we’d create stories about crystal worlds. There’s a real affinity, thematically.”
Shani’s work at The Cosmic House draws inspiration from the mythologies embedded in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. A surrealist exquisite corpse come to life, Frankenstein’s Monster embodies Jencks’ concept of Ad-Hocism—the creative use of materials and objects for unintended purposes, yielding surreal results. If you’re in London, this is one exhibition you absolutely can’t miss!
