--- title: Tate Britain Christmas Decoration Inspired by Pagan Festival description: When it comes to Christmas decorations, the Tate Britain, an art museum in London, has opted for post-apocalyptic decor inspired by pagan festivals like the winter solstice. canonical: https://time.com/5743167/tate-britain-christmas-decorations-anne-hardy/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-12-04T14:22:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:02.158Z og:title: The Tate Britain's Christmas Decorations Inspired by Pagan Festivals og:description: It's the work of artist Anne Hardy og:url: https://time.com/5743167/tate-britain-christmas-decorations-anne-hardy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c951fb2e8dfaf46/698a06e6db2987181f26495b/Tate-Britain-Anne-Hardy-scary-christmas-decorations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Anne Hardy Installation At The Tate Britain og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Tate Britain's Christmas Decorations Inspired by Pagan Festivals twitter:description: It's the work of artist Anne Hardy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c951fb2e8dfaf46/698a06e6db2987181f26495b/Tate-Britain-Anne-Hardy-scary-christmas-decorations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This British Museum's Eerie Christmas Decorations Celebrate the 'Depth of Darkness,' Winter Solstice's Pagan Origins  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Dec 4, 2019 2:22 PM UTC  LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: A sculptural installation by artist Anne Hardy is seen on the exterior of Tate Britain on November 29, 2019 in London, England. For this commission Hardy has transformed Tate Britains iconic facade into a marooned temple in an exploration of the natural rhythms of the earth, tides, and the winter solstice. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: A sculptural installation by artist Anne Hardy is seen on the exterior of Tate Britain on November 29, 2019 in London, England. For this commission Hardy has transformed Tate Britains iconic facade into a marooned temple in an exploration of the natural rhythms of the earth, tides, and the winter solstice. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)Getty Images—2019 Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Dec 4, 2019 2:22 PM UTC When it comes to decking the halls for the holidays, London’s Tate Britain museum has taken a macabre approach. The exterior of the art museum’s stately exterior is transformed, as the Tate describes itself, into a “marooned temple,” embellished with ragged banners and haphazard lights hung askew, while sculptures that look like temple ruins, trash and rags adorn the steps. The dark, borderline-dystopic decorations are accompanied by a 21-minute soundtrack of running water and rolling thunder; the effect is definitely more spooky than merry — which is fitting when you consider the installation’s title: “The Depth of Darkness, the Return of the Light.” This sensory-driven winter temple is the handiwork of artist Anne Hardy, who, according to an Instagram on the Tate’s official account, was “inspired by the rhythms of the earth and the tides of the River Thames.” Hardy chose the somewhat foreboding title having been inspired by pagan descriptions of the winter solstice, which is the darkest moment of the year. In an interview with [_AnOther Magazine_](https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/12117/anne-hardy-tate-britain-winter-commission-the-depth-of-darkness-interview)_,_ Hardy explained that she combined elements of nature with the structure of the museum. “I wanted to work with the Tate façade but change its mood,” Hardy said. “To treat is as a found object and to think about how it might be if it wasn’t the Tate, or had been overcome by natural events.” See more of the Tate’s dark holiday decorations below.  A sculptural installation by artist Anne Hardy is seen on the exterior of Tate Britain on Nov. 29, 2019 in London, England. Chris J Ratcliffe—Getty Images  People walk across the light-and-sound installation 'The Depth Of Darkness The Return Of The Light', by artist Anne Hardy, on the steps of the Tate Britain art gallery in London, England, on November 30, 2019\. Hardy's piece, unveiled today as the gallery's 2019 Winter Commission, is intended to make the building resemble a 'marooned temple'. A thundery soundtrack accompanies the physical objects fixed to the steps and masonry of the front of the gallery. The installation will remain in place until January 26 next year. (Photo by ) David Cliff—NurPhoto/Getty Images  A sculptural installation by artist Anne Hardy is seen on the exterior of Tate Britain on Nov. 29, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by ) David Cliff—SOPA Images/Getty Images  A sculptural installation by artist Anne Hardy is seen on the exterior of Tate Britain on Nov. 29, 2019 in London, England David Cliff—NurPhoto/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5743167/tate-britain-christmas-decorations-anne-hardy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5743167/tate-britain-christmas-decorations-anne-hardy/"},"headline":"This British Museum's Eerie Christmas Decorations Celebrate the 'Depth of Darkness,' Winter Solstice's Pagan Origins","datePublished":"2019-12-04T14:22:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:02.158Z","description":"It's the work of artist Anne Hardy","url":"https://time.com/5743167/tate-britain-christmas-decorations-anne-hardy/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c951fb2e8dfaf46/698a06e6db2987181f26495b/Tate-Britain-Anne-Hardy-scary-christmas-decorations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c951fb2e8dfaf46/698a06e6db2987181f26495b/Tate-Britain-Anne-Hardy-scary-christmas-decorations.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Anne Hardy Installation At The Tate Britain","caption":"Anne Hardy Installation At The Tate Britain","creditText":"Getty Images—2019 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5743167/tate-britain-christmas-decorations-anne-hardy/","name":"This British Museum's Eerie Christmas Decorations Celebrate the 'Depth of Darkness,' Winter Solstice's Pagan Origins"}}]}] ```