Mary McCartney, Embrace, 2003
Unit presents Don’t Look Back, an energetic, multi-layered exhibition that channels the raw creative drive of the 1990s and early 2000s – an era defined by bold, irreverent gestures – into today’s world.
In a time marked by uncertainty and cultural pause, that same urgency feels vital now, with Don’t Look Back tapping into a renewed impulse to make, to gather and to act. Through painting, sculpture, performance and installation, the exhibition brings together a cross-generational group of artists whose work captures the restless momentum of collective creativity.
Abi Huxtable, A tightly cropped photograph of a gen Z girl messily eating a hamburger, 2023
Bex Massey, Millennium, 2022
Caroline Achaintre, GUMS, 2024
Bex Wade, Pieces of You: Collapse of a Union, 2006
George Shaw, Half English 3, 2019-2020
Curated by Beth Greenacre and Sigrid Kirk, the exhibition re-examines the ‘90s & Noughties through a contemporary lens – one that is more inclusive, diverse, and alive with possibility. Don’t Look Back celebrates the vitality, grit and humour found across different communities at that time, and how that spirit continues to evolve in its embrace of queer voices, powerful female identities and broader expressions of individuality that stretch far beyond the laddish narratives often attached to the period.
The curators note, “With Don’t Look Back, we set out to create a defining cultural moment that reflects on the evolving legacies of the 1990s and 2000s while looking decisively forward. Staged like a multi‐gig event, it rips up the rulebook on what an exhibition can be, reimagining that era’s defiance through today’s expansive artistic expressions. It avoids nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, instead foregrounding experimentation, humour, and the idea of a living legacy.”
Elaine Constantine, Fuck Art Let’s Dance, 2009
Peter Liversidge, Effigy Collection IV, 2018
Tom Speedy, (dis)place, 2024
Grace Clifford, Big Shop, 2021
Pam Evelyn. Sun Study, 2022
At the time, artists like Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Richard Billingham and Gavin Turk pushed boundaries in visual art, confronting norms with playful irreverence and raw honesty. While this convergence of art and music was quickly courted by New Labour’s “Cool Britannia,” it also sowed seeds of defiance and DIY experimentation that artists continue to build on today. Don’t Look Back questions how these legacies endure, reimagined through more intersectional and inclusive lenses.
The exhibition structure reflects the charged atmosphere of a live gig, with audiences moving through spaces that echo the momentum of a live performance, from grassroots creativity and the collective energy of shared space, to slower, more introspective works that speak to desire, fragility, and the deeply personal stakes of artistic production.
Richard Billingham, RAL 50 (Ray and Cat on Dresser), 1994
Richard Wilson, Traps, Version 3, 2009
Thomas Cameron, Balconies at Night, 2024
Mark Titchner, Ergo Ergot, 2006
Thomas Cameron, Fish and Chips, 2022
Artists
Caroline Achaintre, Richard Billingham, Thomas Cameron, Grace Clifford, Elaine Constantine, Keith Coventry, Tracey Emin, Pam Evelyn, Abi Huxtable, Abigail Lane, Peter Liversidge, Sarah Lucas, Lakwena Maciver, Bex Massey, Mary McCartney, Polly Morgan, Guy Oliver, Anna Perach, Florence Peake, Simon Periton, Thomas J Price, Damien Roach, George Shaw, Linder Sterling, Tom Speedy, Mark Titchner, Gavin Turk, Bex Wade, Richard wilson, James White.
Don’t Look Back
September 25 – October 25, 2025 / Unit, London
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