Written by J. G. Ballard
Published in 1970
Language: English
Dedicated to "the insane", The Atrocity Exhibition is an experimental assemblage of texts; illustrated, annotated, layered, recursive. I have been attached to Ballard since I first picked up Crash, which must have been back in 2021 or earlier because it was before I started my massive book reading spreadsheet. Within Ballard's oeuvre, The Atrocity Exhibition is formally unusual but quintessential to his thematic interests, and this position makes it really wonderful and intriguing to me. Ballard was an obsessive. One only has to read a few of his works for patterns to emerge. Broad interests: technological destruction, sexuality, fame and fortune, identity dissolution; niche objects: female doctors, cars, Elizabeth Taylor, plastic surgery gossip. Ballard repeats. He works through these themes over and over, refining, trying new techniques, new angles. And this is precisely what happens within The Atrocity Exhibition. (October 2, 2025)