“This new exhibition is the most personal and deeply felt of all.”
Nicole Farhi, HELLO! Magazine
Overview
Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery presents a new exhibition of sculpture by artist and designer Nicole Farhi. Farhi will display 25 cast ciment fondu busts, each hand painted with acrylic paint and depicting victims of miscarriages of justice across multiple countries around the world over the past 125 years. Running from 19 March to 15 June 2025, the exhibition portrays victims whose wrongful convictions have shaped legal history.
The exhibition takes its name from J’Accuse…! — Émile Zola’s famous open letter that exposed the wrongful conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus in France in 1898. Inspired by Dreyfus’s case, Farhi has spent the past two years researching and sculpting figures from around the world who have been unjustly accused, from Timothy Evans, whose wrongful execution helped abolish capital punishment in Britain, to Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison before his conviction was overturned in 2023, leading to the resignation of Helen Pitcher, Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
J’Accuse…! invites visitors to consider the people behind these cases. Each bust, crafted with personal care, offers a portrait of an individual who endured years, even decades, of wrongful imprisonment, some faced torture, some lost their lives.
A celebrated designer turned full-time sculptor, Nicole Farhi CBE is widely known for her eponymous fashion brand but has dedicated the past two decades to her artistic practice. Having trained under Jean Gibson and Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, she has exhibited at Gainsborough’s House and The Harley Gallery. Farhi, a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, has often focused on the human form, and J’Accuse…! marks a new focus — one that uses portraiture to depict the victims behind cases that have made legal and political history.
This exhibition contains sculpture and archival material such as newspaper articles relating to cases in which miscarriages of justice have occurred, including cases involving abuse. Some visitors may find the content of this exhibition distressing. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in the exhibition, then you can find links to support and practical advice here.
Please note that the Eating Room in Pitzhanger Manor will be closed all day on Thursday 6 November for a private event. Artworks in the affected space will be temporarily off view, but General Admission continues as usual. All other rooms will be open as usual during our regular opening hours.
Please note that although our Manor House remains open as normal, we are hosting our Wedding Open Day across the Manor space on 25th October 2025. Artworks in the Manor will be available as normal.
Please note that the Upper Drawing Room in Pitzhanger Manor will be closed at 11.30am–5pm on Saturday 18 October for a private event. Artworks in the affected space will be temporarily off view, but General Admission continues as usual. All rooms will be open before and after this time during our regular opening hours.
Please note that the Eating Room in Pitzhanger Manor will be closed at 1–3.30pm on Friday 31 October for a private event. Artworks in the affected space will be temporarily off view, but General Admission continues as usual. All rooms will be open before and after this time during our regular opening hours.
Please note that 13 November, the Gallery will close at 6pm for the Curator’s Talk with Richard Calvocoressi and Nicholas Serota. From 5pm, there may be some set-up activity in the space, though it will remain open and accessible for ticket holders.
If you do not have a ticket for the talk, we recommend planning your visit a little earlier in the day to enjoy the full exhibition.
Please note that the Eating Room in Pitzhanger Manor will be closed at 10am–5pm on Thursday 6 November for a private event. Artworks in the affected space will be temporarily off view, but General Admission continues as usual. All rooms will be open before and after this time during our regular opening hours.
Please note that the Eating Room in Pitzhanger Manor will be closed at 10am–3pm on Sunday 9 November for a private event. Artworks in the affected space will be temporarily off view, but General Admission continues as usual. All rooms will be open before and after this time during our regular opening hours.