Today I finally went to London to visit the exhibition of my choice for the cultural and critical studies essay we have been set. I visited the V&A exhibition Records and Rebels. I went with quite an open mind as I hadn’t researched the exhibition any further than the information given at the introductory seminar into the assignment and also the exhibition assignment sheet.

The experience for me was strange as I’d never gone to a paid exhibition or to an exhibition that I knew I had to write an essay on. I went with the mindset that I had to write down as much as possible in order to retain as much information that would be useful for my assignment. I think this restricted my thought process and I didn’t freely look around and take in as much as I had liked. I spent a lot of time looking for the information plaques and who created what rather than looking up and around at what was surrounding me. Looking back I wish I had researched a bit more, or even went around the exhibition without making notes, and then go back around and make notes on what interested me. I kind of convinced myself that I would revisit the exhibition because it was just so much to take in during one visit, but that has not happened as of yet. In a few exhibition reviews I have read they’ve described it as a bit of a sensory bombarding experience and I would agree. I think the fact that theres a soundtrack was really fun, and it was lush seeing people dancing and singing along, but it also made it quite hard for me to concentrate on one thing at once.

Overall I enjoyed the exhibition a lot but it’s a shame I had to be so focused on taking in as much information as possible, as I feel this hindered my experience a bit. But I would recommend it to anyone interested in the 60s period!