Find out more about artist Vanessa Baird's sometimes macabre and disquieting artworks, in conversation with the Hayward Gallery's Gilly Fox.
Baird's work often draws from her own experiences, tackling subjects such as domestic chaos and the complexities of caring for an ageing parent. At the same time, her art engages with broader societal issues, delivering sharp commentary on inequality, politics and human vulnerability. Her practice spans monumental murals and intimate series, combining surrealist impulses with biting humour and a feminist perspective.
Baird will be in conversation with Gilly Fox, co-curator of the Vanessa Baird: If ever there were an end to a story that had no beginning exhibition at the Drawing Room in 2020 and at Glasgow Women's Library in 2022. Fox is the author of the first English-word monograph on Vanessa Baird in 2020.
This talk forms part of the public programme supporting the free exhibition Nordic noir: works on paper from Edvard Munch to Mamma Andersson (until 22 March 2026).
The British Museum would like to thank the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Embassies for supporting the travel of artists to facilitate the public programme for Nordic noir.
