Tate Britain | Past Exhibitions | In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida: About the exhibition
The name In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is taken from the title track of an LP released in 1968 by the West Coast rock band, Iron Butterfly. The song was originally going to be called 'In the Garden of Eden'. Legend has it that the lead singer was so drunk when he first announced the song's title that one of the band members wrote down phonetically the slurred words 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'.		Photograph by Maia Norman
The title suggests an overt theme: broadly, the contemporary consequences of the original myth of falling from grace. But the exhibition also reveals the differing formal and material approaches of three artists and how they use metaphor in diverse ways. Lucas uses earthy subject matter and commonplace, throwaway items such as pizza-delivery flyers and cigarettes; Hirst constructs complex installations inside vitrines and makes paintings using butterflies and flies; and Fairhurst's material ranges from newspapers and billboards to bronze and resin. Buy the exhibition catalogue online Please note: This exhibition contains works that some visitors may find challenging. For more information please call 020 7887 8000 or ask a member of Tate staff.