As a philosophy student I sat through many an earnest debate on ‘the nature of art’, and outsider art was always central to the argument. Were the daubings of a chimpanzee art? A visually arresting rock formation? A thousand ants accidentally forming a portrait of Winston Churchill? As with much of my degree, I can remember the examples used better than the actual theories explained, so the realisation that there was more to outsider art than the ants and monkeys dancing around in my head was a bit of a revelation.

The Museum of Everything is a fabulously named new gallery located in a disused dairy Primrose Hill that showcases this ‘art brut’.  The irregular and unrenovated space suits this very personal, private art and it really is an intriguing and unusual exhibition to visit.

One highlight is the works by Henry Darger, reclusive caretaker by day, possibly insane creator of bizarre fantasy stories and epic artworks by night. His most famous work is  The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion and because it’s Friday, here is a great song by the Vivian Girls, a lo fi trio from Brooklyn inspired by his madness.

Photo by Billa used under a Creative Commons License