Jake & Dinos Chapman: The End of Fun

Working together since their graduation from the Royal College of Art in 1990, the Chapman brothers are famous for their iconoclastic sculpture, prints and installations that examine contemporary politics, religion and morality with biting wit and energy. "End of Fun" leads on from the original Hell (1999) tabletop tableau that was destroyed in the Momart fire in 2004, and the later Fucking Hell (2008). A three-dimensional collage, "End of Fun" consists of thousands of plastic figurines, many dressed in Nazi regalia or enacting egregious acts of cruelty, displayed in nine glass cases or dioramas. Combining historical, religious and mythic narratives, "End of Fun" presents an apocalyptic snapshot of the twentieth century. This publication begins with a new essay by Will Self that explores both the historical interpretations of hell and how the theme has featured in the Chapman brothers' work.