Exhibitions
The World of Tim Burton
Past exhibition, 15 cities
28 March 2014 – 26 May 2025
500
works from Burton’s personal archive
15
cities on the tour
11
years touring the world
About the exhibition
The World of Tim Burton traces the artist’s creative output from childhood drawings to the present day.
Drawn from Tim Burton’s personal archive, this exhibition of 500 drawings, paintings, photographs, sketchbooks, moving-image works and sculptural installations focuses on the recurring themes and motifs that shape the characters and worlds of his art and films.
Burton had long been known almost entirely for his films, from Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Big Fish and Sweeney Todd. The exhibition revealed the full range of his work: a versatile artist whose vision moves freely between mediums and formats.
The interplay of horror and humour runs throughout, alongside his best-known motif, the soulful misunderstood outsider, from Edward Scissorhands and Jack Skellington to the Corpse Bride. Childhood sketches sit beside never-before-exhibited pieces, showing influences from Edward Gorey and Charles Addams to Japanese monster movies and Vincent Price.
The World of Tim Burton is organised by independent curator Jenny He in collaboration with Tim Burton Productions.
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Matt Cressick
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Matt Cressick
Courtesy of The Design Museum.
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Courtesy of The Design Museum. Photo Credit: Rob Harris
Tour history
London, UK
25 October 2024 – 26 May 2025
Prague, Czech Republic
1 May 2024 – 30 September 2024
Turin, Italy
10 October 2023 – 7 April 2024
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21 March 2023 – 30 July 2023
Taipei, Taiwan
20 October 2022 – 5 March 2023
Seoul, South Korea
29 April 2022 – 12 September 2022
Genk, Belgium
15 August 2018 – 18 November 2018
Mexico City, Mexico
6 December 2017 – 8 April 2018
Hong Kong
5 November 2016 – 23 January 2017
Shanghai, China
26 June 2016 – 10 October 2016
São Paulo, Brazil
3 February 2016 – 5 June 2016
Brühl, Germany
16 August 2015 – 3 January 2016
Osaka, Japan
27 February 2015 – 19 April 2015
Tokyo, Japan
1 November 2014 – 4 January 2015
Prague, Czech Republic
28 March 2014 – 3 August 2014
