Prem Sahib survey mourns the loss of LGBTQ+ spaces in London
Prem Sahib's mid-career survey at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill creates a deliberate atmosphere of sickly discomfort through minimal, claustrophobic installations that explore the line between terror and intimacy. The exhibition is significant because it centres queerness and mourns the loss of intimate spaces in the city, specifically the closure of private venues important to LGBTQ+ communities.
Key installations include an inverted sodium street lamp casting sickly orange light, puffer jackets squeezed between glass sheets, and resin panels mimicking sweat on nightclub walls. The show incorporates physical elements from closed spaces: double doors from a Mile End leather bar that closed in 2022 and a water fountain from Chariots sauna in Shoreditch which shut in 2016. The exhibition runs from 10 October 2026 to 3 January 2027, with the critic describing the 44-year-old artist as one of Britain's most interesting contemporary practitioners, though noting some elements feel too on-the-nose.
- Prem Sahib's exhibition explores discomfort and intimacy through minimal, unsettling installations.
- The show mourns lost queer spaces including a leather bar and sauna.
- Brilliant mid-career survey from one of Britain's most interesting contemporary artists.
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London's LGBTQ+ communities have long relied on private venues such as leather bars and saunas as safe, significant gathering places. Many of these venues have closed in recent years, removing spaces that held particular importance for the community.
Artist Prem Sahib has created an exhibition at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill that addresses these closures. The show incorporates actual objects salvaged from closed venues, including doors from a leather bar in Mile End that shut in 2022 and a water fountain from a sauna in Shoreditch that closed in 2016.
Rather than simply displaying these objects, Sahib creates a deliberately uncomfortable experience through minimal installations that fill the space with claustrophobic tension. Using elements such as inverted street lamps, compressed jackets and resin panels, the exhibition explores the relationship between fear and intimacy, affecting how visitors experience the environment.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Prem Sahib: Chamber review – master of unease twists the city into terror and pleasure”.