’Inside: Artists and Writers in Reading Prison’ boasts a starry creative line-up, with pieces responding to the work of Oscar Wilde tucked away in claustrophobic cells
The charitable arts organisation Artangel is nothing if not ambitious: locations for its site-specific installations have included a Peckham council flat, a shop on Oxford Street and most recently the Houses of Parliament. Now, for Reading’s 2016 Year of Culture, it has put together a first group exhibition – and it’s at a decommissioned Victorian jail in a London commuter belt town, best known for its former inmate Oscar Wilde.
'Inside: Artists and Writers in Reading Prison' boasts a starry line-up, with pieces tucked away in dozens of claustrophobic cells. There is new work by Steve McQueen, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nan Goldin and Marlene Dumas, writing by Ai Weiwei, and a series of readings from Wilde’s De Profundis by talents including Ralph Fiennes and Patti Smith.
The art largely takes Wilde’s texts written in the former Reading Gaol as a starting point, transforming his suffering into something expansive and elemental. Roni Horn and Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ meditations on water are exhibited together and make for a compelling partnership, while Vija Celmins’ absorbing drawings of night skies are broad and reflective.
The atmosphere overall is subdued, although some artists more than others have paid attention to the eerie environment of the Panopticon-inspired prison, which held prisoners as recently as 2013. In the chapel, there is a totemic sculpture by French artist Jean-Michel Pancin that incorporates the original door from Wilde’s cell. Light floods in from the large windows on either side, and away from the oppressive corridors of the prison there is a hushed calm.
By giving its contributors free rein, Artangel has created an unexpectedly moving exhibition; a deeply personal love letter from an eclectic group of artists for whom Wilde’s hidden emotional life still resonates.
from Wilde’s De Profundis by talents including Ralph Fiennes and Patti Smith
The exhibition features new work by Steve McQueen, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nan Goldin and Marlene Dumas, writing by Ai Weiwei, and a series of readings
The art largely takes Wilde’s texts written in the former Reading Gaol as a starting point, transforming his suffering into something positive
The Prison's exterior
Pictured: Marlene Dumas' works
The overall atmosphere is subdued, although some artists have paid more attention to the eerie environment of the Panopticon-inspired prison than others.
Pictured: Pasolini, by Marlene Dumas, 2012
Pictured: Finn MacCool, by Richard Hamilton, 1983
By giving its contributors free rein, Artangel has created an unexpectedly moving exhibition.
Pictured: Separate Systems, by Wolfgang Tillmans
The display communicates a deeply personal love letter from an eclectic group of artists for whom Wilde’s hidden emotional life still resonates.
INFORMATION
’Inside: Artists and Writers in Reading Prison’ is on view until 30 October. For more information, visit the Artangel website
Photography: Marcus J Leith & James Lingwood. Courtesy Artangel
ADDRESS
HM Prison Reading
Forbury Road
Reading, RG1 3HY
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 showsThe Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom
-
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt will be shown at Tate ModernThe 42-panel quilt, which commemorates those affected by HIV and AIDS, will be displayed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in June 2025
-
Meet the Turner Prize 2025 shortlisted artistsNnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa are in the running for the Turner Prize 2025 – here they are with their work
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyersAn exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
-
Artist Qualeasha Wood explores the digital glitch to weave stories of the Black female experienceIn ‘Malware’, her new London exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, the American artist’s tapestries, tuftings and videos delve into the world of internet malfunction
-
Ed Atkins confronts death at Tate BritainIn his new London exhibition, the artist prods at the limits of existence through digital and physical works, including a film starring Toby Jones
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desireIn a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
