Opening Woodward Henry, Bompas & Parr’s new gallery for immersive exhibitions

London, 2026: Bompas & Parr inaugurates Woodward Henry, a new gallery space within their London studio, with My Lady Nicotine, an exhibition examining the cultural life of nicotine through contemporary art, historical artefacts and immersive exhibition design. Opening in March 2026, the exhibition brings together nine artists to explore nicotine as a paradoxical force: both muse and vice, ritual and rebellion.

The exhibition is open Fridays, 12pm-5pm.
BOOK YOUR VISIT HERE.

Taking its title from J. M. Barrie’s 1890 book My Lady Nicotine, the exhibition frames nicotine not simply as a substance but as a powerful cultural symbol. Barrie famously personified tobacco as a seductive companion to writers and thinkers, and the exhibition extends this idea into the present day, examining why nicotine imagery continues to appear across contemporary culture, from art and fashion to nightlife and online communities.

The exhibition brings together works by Haydn Albrow, David Caines, Noemi Conan, Andrea Gomis, Winnie Hall, Lucy Hutchings, George Richardson, Andrew Maughan and Dominic Watson. Each artist responds to nicotine’s cultural mythology in different ways. Albrow presents a sculptural work placing the viewer inside the body at the moment a cigarette is lit, while Caines exhibits a painting reflecting on smoking as a lingering social ritual. Conan’s paintings depict women gathering around cigarettes as conduits for intimacy and conversation, while Gomis’ ceramic sculptures conceal scenes of smoking and sexuality within everyday objects. Other works transform disposable smoking paraphernalia into monuments or satire, exploring addiction, masculinity and the choreography of the smoking area.

The exhibition design is developed by Bompas & Parr Co-Founder Harry Parr, whose custom plinths, frames and display structures echo the architecture of the Bompas & Parr studio itself. At the centre of the gallery stands a specially designed plinth that functions both as a sculptural display and as a bar for events, reflecting the studio’s interest in spaces where exhibition, hospitality and social ritual intersect.

By combining contemporary artworks with historical references and carefully choreographed exhibition design, My Lady Nicotine demonstrates how Bompas & Parr’s approach to storytelling extends beyond food and drink into the realm of cultural exhibitions. The project establishes Woodward Henry as a new platform for immersive curatorial projects, where art, objects and environment combine to explore the rituals and symbols that shape contemporary life.