Nestled behind a small shop front on Hackney’s Mare street is the weird and wonderful world of The Last Tuesday Society. “It is a Pataphysical organisation founded by William James at Harvard in the 1870s presently run by the Chancellor, myself
Nestled behind a small shop front on Hackney’s Mare street is the weird and wonderful world of The Last Tuesday Society. “It is a Pataphysical organisation founded by William James at Harvard in the 1870s presently run by the Chancellor, myself Viktor Wynd and the Tribune, Suzette Field with the aid of The Fellows of The Society,” explains co-founder Wynd. Spread over the shop’s two floors is what can only be described as a modern cabinet of curiosities. Filled to the brim with an incredible treasure trove of objects, which include the finest in naturalia, taxidermy, zoology, entomology, juvenilia and osteology, the back of the first floor houses a gallery curated by Wynd and the dark basement is bursting with cabinets, bell jars and framed oddities.
“Originally it was a theatre project – the idea was a fake shop selling complete rubbish, and then there would be actors who would perform a script among people who didn’t know they were actors. And then it kind of got lost in the process…” Wynd explains. “It’s a one off project, just one of many of the projects that I’ve done and I do. I’m interested in the idea and the dialogue of objects. When you have something beautiful next to something not beautiful next to some complete bit of kitsch. Some complete rubbish next to a 15th century engraving next to a plastic toy from McDonalds. There’s a wonderful 17th century German word ‘Wunderkabinett’ which is about putting everything together to make one piece – a collection of objects assembled at a whim on the basis of their aesthetic or historical appeal.”
Ranging from the beguiling (a whole wall is dedicated to iridescently coloured butterflies and invertebrate specimens which Wynd painstakingly prepares himself) to the bizarre (Amy Winehouse and Kyle Minogue’s jarred poo) and the brutal (human foetuses in bottles) – Wynd’s collection is nothing short of fascinating, although maybe not for the faint of heart. Individually chosen by Wynd, each object has an incredible back story, which he relays in extensive detail. “The scariest object we’ve had is probably our collection of shrunken heads, which we’ve just sold to a museum in Belgium. Although headhunting was and still is widespread in many parts of the world, according to scientific authority the preparation of shrunken heads is limited to the tribes that inhabit the north-western Amazonas region...” Wynd tells. “I remember, before I had the shop, years ago, I was sleeping in my library and I happened to look up just before I went to bed, and I could see three human foetuses in a bottle, I could see two shrunken heads, I could see two human skeletons and about five human skulls and a baby. I got up to about 12 dead people I could see from my bed and I found it rather comforting. Years ago, Bryan Adams borrowed some skulls for a photo shoot, and after a few days I started to feel really lonely at home on my own. They’re comforting rather than scary. I go into my library where I work most days and know that I’m not alone.”
Also working as a multidisciplinary artist Wynd takes great pride in curating and collaborating with the artists who he showcases in the back of The Last Tuesday Society, “It’s a gallery that constantly changes. Opening on Thursday is an exhibition of graphic work by Leonora Carrington – who I’ve been obsessed with since I was 16 – and Tilly Losch, who was a very important dancer at the beginning of the 20th century and married to Edward James the great Surrealist patron.” Each month the front window is given to a different artist to decorate and the shop also hosts various events and lectures – for Halloween they are putting on their very own 19th century gothic magic lantern show done by Mervyn Heard. “Halloween is the best party of the year,” Wynd explains, “Everybody wants to do it. It’s a great theme to have around a party, and it’s a great theme for excess. As well as our annual A Danse Macabre which takes place in London Bridge, tonight’s in store magic lantern show will be incredible, harking back to the age before cinema. Mervyn Heard who’s perfoming it is amazing – he did the whole of the Ring Cycle for the Royal Opera House as a magic lantern show. In terms of other parties in the year – New Year’s Eve is awful because of various things, May Day is whatever – Halloween is the best one.”
The Last Tuesday Society is situated at 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RP and open by appointment and Thursday–Saturday 12-7pm. Tonight for Halloween and as part of The Hendrick's Lecture series A Gothic Magic Lantern Show with Mervyn Heard takes place in store.
Text by Lucia Davies
