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Journeys with ‘The Waste Land’

A visual response for Coventry to T.S. Eliot’s poem

The Waste Land is a major work of 20th century literature, written by T.S. Eliot in 1921 in the aftermath of the First World War. Journeys with ‘The Waste Land’ is an exhibition led by independent curator, Michael Tooby, and organised in collaboration with Turner Contemporary in Margate, by the Mead Gallery and the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in association with Coventry Cathedral.

This exhibition explores the contemporary significance of T.S. Eliot’s seminal poem and the way it has resonated with artists over the years. An extension of the exhibition continues in Coventry Cathedral with John Newling's 'Eliot's Notebooks and Eliot's soil'.

© John Stezaker. Courtesy The Approach, London. Photo: FXP photography.

John Stezaker Mask CCV, 2016
© John Stezaker. Courtesy The Approach, London. Photo: FXP photography.

The works selected for exhibition have been researched by a group of volunteers drawn from the Coventry area and include historical and contemporary works by artists including Peter Blake, Jacob Epstein, Elisabeth Frink, RB Kitaj, Percy Wyndham Lewis, Paul Nash, George Shaw, John Stezaker, Graham Sutherland and JMW Turner. Through these works, the exhibition explores themes within Eliot’s poem of journeys and fragmentation. The selection also makes reference to Coventry’s history as a city fragmented by, and rebuilt upon, the ruins of war.

Visit the Learning section of our website to download a free resource pack to accompany visits to the Journeys with 'the Waste land' exhibition created by the Mead Gallery.

To read the Journeys with 'The Waste Land' blog or find out more about Fringe events, please visit: journeyswiththewastelandcoventry.com or follow the hashtag #icanconnect