Elective Affinities

Centenary exhibition: Elective Affinities —100 years at Swedenborg House

ARTIST/S: INCLUDING WORKS BY ALICE ALBINIA | CHLOE ARIDJIS | HOMERO ARIDJIS | FRANÇOIS HIPPOLYTE BARTHÉLÉMON | WILLIAM BLAKE | ANDRÉ BRETON | THE QUAY BROTHERS | JOSEPHINE BUTLER | COLIN BUTTIMER | LEONORA CARRINGTON | JACOB CARTWRIGHT | PETER CARTWRIGHT | BRIAN CATLING | S T COLERIDGE | SHEZAD DAWOOD |TESSA FARMER | JOHN FLAXMAN | MARGARITA GLUZBERG | XIAOLU GUO | MARCELLE HANSELAAR | ASGER JORN | HELEN KELLER | DEAN KENNING | EDEN & ANDREW KÖTTING | T E LAWRENCE | PHILIP JAMES DE LOUTHERBOURG | KATE MCCGWIRE | DAVID MCKEE | STEPHEN MCNEILLY | SIMON MORETTI | PAUL O'KANE | MARK RILEY | IAIN SINCLAIR | ODA ISELIN SØNDERLAND | D T SUZUKI | EMANUEL SWEDENBORG | D T SUZUKI | NATALIA ZAGÓRSKA-THOMAS | VERNON WATKINS | BEN WICKEY | J J G WILKINSON | VIKTOR WYND

ADDITIONAL NOMINATORS: REBEKKA CARTWRIGHT | ANTHONY FINNIGAN | RUFUS MOORE | ALEX MURRAY | DENISE PRENTICE | ANYA REEVE | ADAM SKIPPER | JAMES WILSON

SWEDENBORG HOUSE is proud to announce Elective Affinities, a landmark exhibition marking 100 years at its historic Bloomsbury premises. Running from 19 September 2025 to 27 February 2026, the exhibition will span all four floors of the building and bring together rare archival treasures with contemporary works by leading artists, filmmakers and writers.

Taking inspiration from the term coined in early chemistry, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 1809 novel, and a celebrated painting by René Magritte, Elective Affinities explores the mysterious connection between objects, ideas and inner experience. At its core lies the thought of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), whose philosophy of correspondences proposed a resonance between objects, places and events and our thoughts and affections.

Curated by Stephen McNeilly, the exhibition features rarely seen items from the Swedenborg House Collection, including works by William Blake, Helen Keller, John Flaxman, André Bretonand Samuel Taylor Coleridge. These historic pieces are counterpointed by newly nominated artworks, films and audio from invited contemporary figures including the acclaimed filmmakers The Quay Brothers, renowned writers Iain Sinclair, Xiaolu Guo and Chloe Aridjis, and award-winning artists Shezad Dawood and Kate MccGwire amongst others.

“Swedenborg believed that our affections and thoughts gravitate naturally toward certain objects, communities and places. This exhibition looks to animate these connections, mapping a series of poetic affinities across time and disciplines.” —Curator, Stephen McNeilly

Elective Affinities will also feature a full public programme of talks, screenings and performances, with further details available at www.swedenborg.org.uk.

Exhibition run: 19 September 2025 - 27 February 2026. Open daily Mondays to Fridays 10.00 am - 5.00 pm. Free admission.

Please note that the Wynter Room (containing works by Xiaolu Guo, Eden + Andrew Kötting, Philip James de Loutherbourg, Iain Sinclair, Emanuel Swedenborg, Natalia Zagórska-Thomas, Vernon Watkins, and Viktor Wynd) will be closed to the public on the following days:

Wednesday 29 October (12.00-3.00 p.m.); Tuesday 18 November (1.00-5.00 p.m.).

Please note that Swedenborg Hall (containing works by Simon Moretti, Paul O'Kane, and Quay Brothers) will be closed to the public on the following days:

Thursday-Friday 6-7 November (10.00 a.m.-5.00 p.m.); Tuesday 18 November (10.00 a.m.-2.00 p.m.).

IMAGE CREDITS

BANNER IMAGE. Left: Natalia Zagórska-Thomas, Nike, 2011. Mixed media. Photo: Franek Strzeszewski. © Natalia Zagorska-Thomas. Right: Shezad Dawood, The Black Sun, 2010. Wall-mounted neon, 110 cm, black wall. Courtesy the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary.

MIDDLE. Margarita Gluzberg, SONG OF A CAPTIVE NIGHTINGALE, Sound Installation, gramophone records with turntables.

BOTTOM. Unknown. Map of Swedenborg's London (c. 1950s). From the collection of the curator.