Exhibition reopens on the lives of South Londoners at the Horniman Museum

You can now take a scroll through the lives of South Londoners at the Horniman Museum with the reopening of the From Birth ’til Death: Scrolled Life Stories exhibition this week, writes Connor McLaughlin.

Celebrating its shortlisting as UK exhibition of the Year, the exhibition will allow visitors to learn about the lives and stories of the different communities and peoples of south London through giant painted papyrus scrolls suspended from the ceiling.

Each scroll in the exhibition will be one individual’s story and visitors can decode the symbols on the scrolls to learn their stories, helping to normalise untold stories from local communities.

Artist R.M. Sánchez-Camus, from Horniman’s Community Learning Team said: “Bringing local community voices into a gallery exhibition is an important marker of validation for those who are often not seen or heard, yet who carry rich and important experiences we can all learn from.

“The Horniman has a rich collection of objects that tell the story of who we are as people on this earth and this exhibition contributes to that collection with the life stories of present-day Londoners.

“Our personal collection of life stories make up the museum of self, continuously archived throughout our life.

“Each of us is a micro-museum, carrying the history and stories of the times we live in. And what better way to know ourselves than by understanding others.”

The installation shows the stories of resilience, joy and heartache of both people who have only recently arrived in the UK to Londoners whose families have lived here for generations.

The exhibition will run until June 13 in the Horniman’s contemporary arts space, The Studio.

Entry is free but visitors, including members, must book a time slot at horniman.ac.uk.