Do people really go to galleries to answer stupid questions? Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley review

<p><strong>Serpentine North Gallery, London</strong><br>The artist wants to tackle polarisation by strong-arming her audience into stilted debate in a show which seems to mistake social media for real life</p><p></p><p></p><p>This haunted fairground of an exhibition has its heart in the right place. But that is not enough. Called The Delusion, it is a woolly mess of platitudes and phoney dialogue. Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley is worried about the polarisation of online discourse and 21st-century politics. Aren’t we all? But the remedies offered are confused, and the attempt to create a free, open discussion is stymied by its coercive tactics.</p><p>You can’t say you weren’t warned. A huge text at the beginning explains the artist’s “Terms and Conditions”, including the instructions to “Join others, experience this together”, and to “talk, share, listen and question out loud”. Do I have to? Yes. As I look at an arcade-like machine in a cabinet behind a glass door, someone asks me firmly, “Did you open the door? Well, you should open it.” So I open it, answer some questions in the negative and am told off again, this time by the machine, for holding back.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/sep/30/danielle-brathwaite-shirley-the-delusion-review-serpentine-north">Continue reading...</a>