We all have that one celebrity we feel especially drawn to, someone we feel we understand on a spiritual level, able to connect with beyond the surface. The exhibition Holy Pop! at Somerset House in London, which runs until 9 August 2026, explores this exact devotion. Featuring memorabilia, art, photographs and shrines, it shows how this admiration shapes identity, values and lifestyles, and builds community.
This idolisation of pop culture figures is far from a new concept. It is human nature to collect things of personal value to us: items that signify a memory and help us empathise when grief strikes. On display, visitors will see shrines dedicated to famous names such as David Bowie, Prince, Aaliyah, Elvis Presley, and Princess Diana, curated by Tory Turk, who specialises in subcultures and pop culture, alongside Senior Curator Claire Catterall. Reflecting on the exhibition, Turk states, “Regardless of your religion, faith always comes from the heart... Holy Pop! is about our very human desire to believe in something bigger, because that is what makes us feel alive.”
Divided into three rooms, visitors will first see the personal nature of devotion, the dynamic they believe they share with a stranger and the sense of belonging it offers. We also delve into communal mourning. In moments of tragedy, we can’t help but feel we have lost someone close to us. Whether it’s an actor whose movies we watch for comfort or a singer whose lyrics understand our hearts, these are people who take up important space in our minds. This section examines how grief brings a community of strangers together to celebrate their hero. A perfect example is the day after Elvis Presley’s death, when the US hit a yet-unbeaten record for the most flowers sold in a single day.
Following this, we move on to personal shrines: objects we display in our homes dedicated to this person with whom we feel a kinship. We hold on to these things because they’re a physical touchstone to a connection with a person we don’t personally know, but with whom we feel an intimate, intangible bond.
The final room is devoted to a single wad of gum: Nina Simone’s, to be exact. Musician Warren Ellis collected the piece after Simone’s final show in the UK as a way to immortalise the memory of the performance. The gum also became the foundation and title of Ellis’s memoir, Nina Simone’s Gum: A Memoir of Things Lost and Found, chronicling the totem’s two-decade-long journey and the story he found himself in because of it. Who knew a single everyday item could take one on such a journey?
The exhibition Holy Pop! is on view until 9 August 2026, at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA.
