Jitish Kallat’s installation at London’s Somerset House is intriguing, but hardly his best work
At first glance, Somerset House is a typical neo-classical London pile, complete with Greek pillars and a large cobblestone courtyard. The history of the building and the site are a microcosm of the history of London itself: the original was finished around 1552 and housed Elizabeth the First when she was a princess; it was brought down in 1775, and the replacement was the first home of the Royal Academy of the Arts before the RA moved to its current location in Piccadilly; after being tenanted by a number of government offices, the North Wing became the home of the Courtauld Institute of Art and the House itself became a trust and re-purposed for public use, including art studios, music concerts, fashion events, public art installations and so on.
