7 Feb – 6 May 2024 at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London

Opening times:
Tue – Fri, 10am – 6pm
Sat, 10am – 8pm
Sun, 10am – 6pm
Closed Mon

This immersive exhibition showcases works from 21 artists and spans over 60 years of contemporary sculpture, highlighting different ways in which artists draw on familiar experiences of movement, flux and organic growth. Inspired by a variety of sources, including a dancer’s movement, the breaking of a wave, the flow of molten metal, and the interlacing of a spider’s web, the pieces in ‘When Forms Come Alive’ evoke dynamic and ever-changing realms of experience.

The exhibition also features supplementary activities such as discussions and guided tours. Find out more HERE.

By visiting ‘When Forms Come Alive’ you will get a chance to see Brzeski’s ‘Dream – Spontaneous Combustion’, a piece of art completed in 2008 by the use of soot, ash and polyurethane resin. This installation resembles a mushroom cloud rising over the remains of a dead body. This mysterious occurrence of the self-ignition has captivated paranormal investigators’ minds since the 19th century, causing a multitude of speculations, hypnotises and folk superstitions. Come and witness this phenomenon yourself – and answer the question if the self-ignition occurs spontaneously with its source remaining inside the body but the result being violet fire. Get a firsthand observation of the hidden powers of mental forces, liberated by dreams. Is their dangerous potential also a symbol threat to art institutions?

Olaf Brzeski is a Polish sculptor, draftsman and author of installations & experimental films. His works have been exhibited both individually and collectively in Poland and internationally. In 2009, he received a nomination to participate in the “Spojrzenia” / “Views” award by the Deutsche Bank Foundation, organized by the National Gallery Zachęta in Warsaw. Additionally, he was nominated for the Polityka Passport in 2013, and in 2014, he was awarded a scholarship to the ISCP in New York and another scholarship in 2014-2015 at Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin.

To book your tickets click HERE.

Members and Under 12s go free. There are concessions for full-time students and recipients of Universal or Pension Credit as well as Under-30s & Lambeth residents.

Due to popular demand, Southbank Centre recommends booking tickets in advance.