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Tranquillity

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Photograph of a dark exhibition gallery space showing 4 separate large free-standing walls on which photographic prints of large forest scenes are displayed, filling the entire walls. The prints show tall tree trunks, green leaf canopy cover and ground level ferns. To the left of the gallery view is a circular padded green seat which wraps around a vertical iron girder. Sitting cross legged on the seat is a woman with long black hair, a white blouse and yellow leggings. She has an orange shawl around her neck and is wearing a black face covering. She is spotlit from a light almost directly above her. In the distance are two more visitors with their backs to the camera, standing looking at one of the forest scenes. To their right is a small green padded stool.
Tranquillity exhibition, Artwork: Chrystel Lebas. Gallery Photo: Steven Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

An uplifting double header — we could have spent an hour in that forest.

Londonist

Take a deeper look at feelings of peace and balance.

Tranquillity brings peace and balance, helping you to reconnect with yourself and your surroundings. There may be a wonderful simplicity to experiencing such calm feelings, but they are complex and difficult to attain.

This exhibition offers new commissions that take a deeper look, such as Jasleen Kaur’s playful critique of the wellness industry and Chrystel Lebas’s sublime multisensory tribute to forests and how they affect our health.

Historical artefacts, from a régime du corps medieval wellbeing manual to the notebooks that Octavia E Butler used as self-encouragement, show you some of the different ways that individuals pursue moments of tranquillity. 

Exhibition highlights

Photograph of an exhibition glass display case showing an open old, early printed book, held in a book cradle. The open double page spread shows a portrait engraving of a person's head with the title, 'Joy with Tranquillity' above it.
A page from Heads. Representing the various passions of the soul; as they are expressed in the human, Charles Le Brun. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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This engraving is a reproduction from painter Charles Le Brun’s drawings of the passions of the soul, each of which Le Brun believed produced a different facial expression. These were used to create a visual dictionary for artists to copy from, and this page depicts the serene and idealised state of “joy with tranquillity”.

Photograph of a dark exhibition gallery space showing a constructed scene. On the far wall is a very large photographic print showing the sea, a rocky shoreline, a large temple like building and a mountain ranges. In front of this wall is a bungle of large cut wooden logs, lying on the floor on their side, which are tied around the middle. Above the rope is a purple flame like object. To the left of the logs is a white hanging curtain onto which a yellow rectangle is projected. To the far right is a wooden bench seat covered in a black and white patterned veneer.
My Body is a Temple of Gloom. 2021, Jasleen Kaur. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Artist Jasleen Kaur brings our attention to social injustice within the exotifying practices of the multibillion-dollar wellness industry. This oversized palo santo wood sculpture – burned as incense for its stress-relieving and cleansing properties – references the rapid deforestation in parts of South America. Kaur asks us to consider who is exploited by acts of careless self-care.

Photograph in an exhibition gallery showing a section of a translucent wall revealing the wooden structure behind, on which a framed print in a wooden frame has been hung. In a window mount within the frame is a colourful drawing of a Buddha, resisting the demons of Mara, who are attempting to prevent him from attaining enlightenment, as angels watch from above.
Buddha, resisting the demons of Mara, who are attempting to prevent him from attaining enlightenment,, Unknown artist. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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This colourful print from Sri Lanka shows a scene from the Buddha’s life on the path to enlightenment. It is mythologised as a great battle with Māra, the evil demon that tries to stop him with an army of monsters. According to Buddhist theology, Māra’s battle represents the struggle we each face daily to see things how they really are, not confined by fear, distraction and our own ego.

Photograph in an exhibition gallery showing a section of a translucent wall revealing the wooden structure behind, on which a framed print in a wooden frame has been hung. In a window mount within the frame is a colourful drawing of Kau Jun, the 'venerable gentleman', wearing traditional costume, holding the 'Eight Trigrams' and 'Yin and Yang' symbol.
Kau Jun, the 'venerable gentleman', wearing traditional costume, holding the 'Eight, 19th Century, Unknown artist. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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In the religious tradition of Taoism, everything is a balance of opposites. The yin and yang symbol represents contrary forces that complement each other. Love is impossible without anger, and pain and happiness are intertwined. These interactions are celebrated and seen as complementary rather than at odds with each other. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine regard the body as made up of yin and yang.

Photograph of an exhibition glass display case showing an open manuscript, held in a book cradle. The open double page spread shows intricate writing and page pictorial embellishment on the right hand page with a colourful illumination at the start of the text.
Page from Le régime du corps, Aldobrandino da Siena and Jehan Quatredens. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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This medieval manuscript was made for a noble French family, and it was passed down and annotated by several generations of women. The book contains advice on how to achieve equilibrium by regulating the ‘non-naturals’ – things such as sleep, exercise and food. The passions of the soul were included among the non-naturals, and too much of one particular passion was believed to lead to ill health.

Photograph of an exhibition glass display case showing two paper exhibits raised at an angle off the display case base. The paper on the left is orange in colour and long and thin. On it are written the words, 'Tell stories filled with facts. Make people touch and taste and KNOW. Make people FEEL! FEEL! FEEL! The paper on the right is lined and has 3 hole punches. It contains a full page of text which starts, 'I am a Bestselling Writer...'
Commonplace Books. © Octavia E Butler.
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Octavia Butler’s writing addresses disability, race and gender rights. As part of a personal motivational routine, she regularly wrote statements of self-encouragement. These notes reveal her ambitions of connecting emotionally with her readers, becoming a bestselling author, and becoming financially secure so she could support other writers of colour.

Photograph in an exhibition gallery apace, showing a computer screen mounted on a gallery plinth. On the screen is an image of a young woman seated at a wooden table with a blue china teacup and saucer in front of her and a shiny metal teapot. She is smiling to the camera. To the right of the image is the context graphics of an Instagram comments section include 3 comments. On a label stuck to the plinth in front of the screen are the words, 'Wave here from side to side to scroll'.
#1000happydays. © Sara Haq.
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Over the course of three years, the artist Sara Haq kept a gratitude journal on Instagram called #1000happydays. Excessive social media use has been proven to increase feelings of anxiety by promoting a desire for constant approval. Here, however, Haq harnesses Instagram’s journaling and connective potential, using it as a tool to treasure small details of everyday pleasure.

Photograph of an exhibition gallery space showing a translucent fabric backlit wall revealing the wooden structure behind, on which a large rectangular white board is hung. On the front of this board, 60 coloured socks have been mounted in a grid 12 across by 5 high. The tones of these socks transition from light white tones on the left to darker black tones on the right. To the right of the image is another wall at right-angle to the far wall. In front of this wall is a bench seat and a glass display case containing 2 flat paper exhibits.
The first one’s the best. 2015, Celia Pym. Source: Courtesy of the artist. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Celia Pym is interested in memories held in our clothing. She repairs worn-out garments for a living and sees a link between the therapeutic practical care of mending and her previous training as a nurse. She made this piece on a residency in the Dissecting Room at King’s College London. Here Pym darned socks to practise stitching, while medical students studied anatomy around her. These socks are intentionally cut, anticipating areas where they are likely to become worn through – carrying out preventative care.

Photograph in an exhibition gallery showing a section of a translucent wall revealing the wooden structure behind, on which a framed print in a wooden frame has been hung. In a window mount within the frame is an engraving of a large Wellingtonia or mammoth tree, towering over the surrounding trees. At the base of the tree is a small human figure. To the top and bottom of the engraving is a line of text.
Wellingtonia or mammoth tree towering above surrounding forest and person at its base. 1857, W P Blake. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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In this illustration a giant redwood tree towers above a small figure, symbolising its majesty. This particular species can grow over 100 metres and live for thousands of years. In response to mass felling of redwoods in the 19th century, there was public outcry. This galvanised support for the American conservation movement to demand the protection of forest land, which ultimately led to the establishment of national parks.

Photograph of an exhibition glass display case showing a very fragile folding almanac from the 15th century, which is partially open and supported on a perspex mount. The almanac is delicately spotlit by 3 small lights. It has a fabric textured cover and folded internal pages which are covered in hand written texts and diagrams.
English folding almanac in Latin, 1415-20. Source: Wellcome Collection. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Almanacs such as these were designed to be carried by a physician on their belt and consulted to diagnose ill health. In the Middle Ages it was believed that human health was closely aligned to the cosmos, and this almanac contains astrological diagrams and celestial calendars. The Zodiac Man was a common medical illustration of the time, containing symbols situated at different bloodletting points, suggesting the times of the year when it would have been dangerous to treat those areas of the body.

Photograph in an exhibition gallery space showing a section of a translucent fabric wall revealing the wooden structure behind, on which six framed square prints in white wooden frames have been hung. The images are all taken in an allotment environment and show a combination of portraits and environmental studies.
Manor Garden Allotments, Hackney Wick. © Toby Glanville.
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Just before the Olympic development of east London, Toby Glanville documented a local allotment before it was relocated. He captures the diverse intergenerational community as they tend to their plots of land, growing vegetables and enjoying family meals. Glanville’s photographs, for the ‘Moro East’ cookbook, capture the restorative benefits of gardening and gaining a greater connection with the earth, even in the middle of a busy urban environment.

Photograph of a dark exhibition gallery space showing 4 separate large free-standing walls on which photographic prints of large forest scenes are displayed, filling the entire walls. The prints show tall tree trunks, green leaf canopy cover and ground level ferns. The ceiling of the gallery space is in complete darkness. The floor of the space is a textured brown carpet. Each print of the forest seems to almost glow in the space.
Regarding Forests, 2021, Chrystel Lebas. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Researchers at the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo first publicised their research into the health benefits of shinrin-yoku or ‘forest bathing’ in the 1980s. In 2019 Chrystel Lebas travelled to the Hoh Rain Forest in Washington State, USA, and then on to the Japanese island of Yakushima, known for its Yakusugi or cedar trees. These two temperate rainforests contain some of the oldest living trees in the world. Lebas takes photographs with a long exposure to capture a rich spectrum of blues and greens in the last moments of daylight. In this installation, these monumental photographs are accompanied by a natural soundscape recorded on location and a scent of petrichor that evokes the smell of the forest floor after it has rained.

  • A complete set of gallery captions is available to read online. Large-print captions are also available in the gallery.
  • Our digital gallery guide for ‘Joy’ and ‘Tranquillity’ features 24 perspectives from medicine, science, religion and poetry, and audio descriptions of some artworks. It is available as audio, BSL and complete transcripts. Handsets are also available in the gallery, but we encourage you to bring your own device and headphones.
  • A family guide for people with children aged 3–11 is available in the gallery.
  • Season

On Happiness

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A season of free events, activities and two exhibitions which celebrate the complexity of happiness and invite you to explore the big questions about positive feelings.