The great exhibitions of the south east

Towner Eastbourne

Jananne Al-Ani is a London-based, Iraqi-born artist working with photography, film and video. Her exhibition is a moving work in which she reveals a micro landscape in the surface of a highly decorated brass tray that originated in Iraq and is now held in the V&A Collection. Using ultra close-up photographs of the engraved surface and computer animation, Al-Ani transforms the flattened perspective of the scene into a vast and varied landscape. The artist’s work is concerned with the power of testimony, representations of landscapes marked by conflict, and the legacy of British power and influence globally. Until May 22nd 2022

Kew Gardens, Richmond

If you have a little one in your life (or a big one!) who loves vivid candy floss colours and fantastical shapes then take them to Kew Gardens and pop into the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art for this eclectic exhibition of artworks made from everyday materials such as sugar, candy, and assorted craft materials. See the imaginary landscape filled with foods of the future, created in collaboration with Kew scientists. Until March 2023

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Expect breathtaking intergalactic images as 2022’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibit showcases the world’s best space photography, from spectacular skyscapes to mind-blowing images of distant planets and galaxies. Leave the museum with a renewed sense of wonder for the universe and our place in it. Until August 7th 2022

Hastings Contemporary (formerly the Jerwood Gallery)

During his time as a political prisoner in his native Sudan in the 1970s, Ibrahim El-Salahi drew on small scraps of cement casings, which he would join together to make a whole when his guards were not watching. At the age of 91, the ‘Godfather of African Modernism’ is still creating, refusing to let the immense back pain he is suffering stop him. The exhibition features tiny pen-and-ink drawings as well as large, unique monoprint paintings transferred by screen from initial works. Pain Relief coincides with El-Salahi’s inclusion in Il Latte dei Sogni (The Milk of Dreams) at the Venice Biennale. Until June 5th 2022

Tate Modern

Discover a world of endless reflections inside Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at Tate Modern. Combining her 2012 work Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life, and a Chandelier of Grief, this exhibition offers a mesmerising and immersive glimpse into the mind of the Japanese artist. Until June 12th 2022

Farleys Gallery, Muddles Green (Lewes)

Farley’s House and Gallery is in itself a terrific hidden gem in East Sussex and is now, following a major retrospective of her work at the Tate Modern in 2019, showcasing an exhibition of prints by Dorothea Tanning. She created everything from enigmatic paintings to uncanny sculptures during her enviable seven-decade career but she might be best known for her surrealist prints. Tanning strove to depict ‘unknown but knowable states’; to suggest there was more to life than meets the eye and her work leaves one contemplating just that. Until May 22nd 2022

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

The Queen’s Gallery is always a good choice when you have little time to spare, it can comfortably be explored in an hour. This exhibition explores British royal encounters with Japan over a period of 350 years. The Royal Collection holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art and design in the western world.

For the first time, highlights from this outstanding collection are brought together to tell the story of 300 years of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between the British and Japanese royal and imperial families. The exhibition includes rare pieces of porcelain and lacquer, samurai armour, embroidered screens and diplomatic gifts from the reigns of James I to Her Majesty The Queen. Until February 2023

The Royal Observatory Greenwich deserves a special mention for its fantastic year-round Planetarium shows and Observatory events. See the universe in a brand new light and reawaken wonder! I can confidently say that even the most jaded amongst us can find something to be in awe of at this inspiring observatory.