Hetain Patel: Come As You Really Are

A film and exhibition celebrating the creativity people bring to their spare time pastimes – from making and modifying to crafting and collecting to wild swimming and cosplay.

This UK-wide project by award-winning artist Hetain Patel, commissioned by Artangel, presents an alternative portrait of the country through the hobbies people love.

At the heart of the exhibition is a new film by Patel, blending high-end cinematic production with everyday scenes that highlight the joy and dedication found in pastimes often enjoyed quietly at home or with friends. Visitors to the Museum of Making will recognise the model railway, which is lovingly created and maintained by volunteers here at the museum and has a starring role in the film.

The project launched in January 2024 with a public call-out, people across the UK shared information about their hobbies and whether they would be interested in joining the project by loaning objects or participating in other activities. ‘Come As You Really Are’ celebrates how people express themselves through what they make, collect, and do.

At the Museum of Making this film will be shown in the Warehouse – our top floor gallery space – alongside a small display of hobbyists’ objects that feature in the film and objects made and collected by the artist, including a handmade Spiderman suit!

On your visit, follow our hobby trail to discover objects that have been created by hobbyists throughout the museum collections.

About Hetain Patel:

Hetain Patel is a London-based artist and filmmaker, whose work challenges reductive categorisations of identity and art. Often rooted in personal experience and that of his immigrant family, Patel’s work invites us to see identity as multi-dimensional and complex, linked as much to what we choose to do, as to that which is assigned by birth, heritage, social norms, and conventions.  

Patel’s films, sculptures, live performances, paintings and photographs have been shown worldwide in galleries, theatres and on iconic public screens, including Piccadilly Circus, London, and Times Square, New York. His works have been presented at the Venice Biennale, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing and in London at institutions including Tate Modern and Sadler’s Wells. 

Patel’s works are in public and private collections in the UK and internationally, including Tate, British Council, Arts Council England, Government Art Collection, Manchester Art Gallery, M+ Museum Hong Kong, KNMA New Delhi, and Fondazione In Between Art Film, Rome.