Stranger Things seems to have broken into London as monumentally ugly sculptures of blood and gore are filling the Hayward Gallery at the moment.

This is actually the new Anish Kapoor exhibition, and features some of his latest works dripping in red, as well as stalwarts of his mirror work, and more controversially, his Vantablack works. A giant squashed balloon fills the opening gallery, which is technically impressive and contrasts nicely with the concrete stairs, but candidly, it’s a balloon.

Then there’s the black – the vantablack, which the artist rather controversially has the exclusive rights to use as an artist. It’s a material designed to reflect as little light as possible, so you’re looking into a depthless void. It’s all very technically clever and fascinating to look at, but to use the cliche, is it art? A circle of clever light absorbing material is a tribute to the materials scientists, not the artist.

I had the same feeling about the mirror artworks. Very clever, very fun, but who is the real creator at work here?

More artistic though as the huge red protrusions. A mass hanging from the ceiling as if slowly pouring through from some other world sitting next to ghastly mounds wrapped in plastic. It’s actually pretty darned ugly – but actually, the monumental scale of the work gives it a certain appeal to look at and walk around.

More stranger things next door with a sprawling mass of red tentacles leading to a void door in its heart.

Easy to miss, but playful, are two large mirrored sculptures outside on the terraces, but also more masses of seemingly congealed blood spilling out of amorphous blobs.

It’s a difficult exhibition.

It’s in places that are either exceptionally clever, exceptionally large or exceptionally ugly. In the end, it’s as if three separate shows were glued together because individually they’d be overwhelming.

The exhibition, Anish Kapoor, is at the Hayward Gallery until 18th October 2026.

• Standard Ticket: £22
• Art Fund: £16.50
• Ages 12-16 Years: £8
• Under 12 Years: Free
• Concessions: £18

Details here.