The Hayward presents the first major UK retrospective of Annette Messager, widely regarded as one of Europe's most important artists. The exhibition, Annette Messager: The Messengers, traces the development of Messager's work over the last four decades, from the intimate pieces of the early 1970s to the large and visually stunning installations of the past 15 years, including part of Casino, the Pinocchio-inspired sumptuous red and black silk spectacle for which Messager won the Golden Lion Award at the 2005 Venice Biennale.
Messager takes everyday objects and materials such as soft toys, stuffed animals, fabrics, wool, photographs, words and other media and transforms them to create extraordinary artworks. The themes Messager examines are as wide-ranging as the materials she uses; from self-identity, sexuality and the body, to explorations of life and death, good and evil, and human and animal. At times humorous and playful, at times frightening and morbid, her works are characterized by a mixing of differing perspectives, challenging the viewer to look at the world anew and confront the fears and fantasies that lie beneath the surface of daily life. The exhibition was initially shown at the Centre Pompidou, Paris in 2007.
From 4 March to 25 May in The Hayward, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XZ. Open daily from 10am to 6pm (on Fridays to 10pm).