British artist Philip Colbert was born in Scotland and today lives and works in London. Thanks to the character of the lobster in a cartoon version and his masterful hyper-pop historical paintings, he boasts a global following. His work forcefully explores the models of contemporary digital culture, with which he weaves a deeper historical-artistic dialogue.

His obsession with the lobster is rooted in the historical symbolism that the lobster embodies in art, language, and time. In HOUSE OF THE LOBSTER, Colbert pays homage to the roots of lobster mythology through a fascinating series of works inspired by the Museum's collection of mosaics from Pompeii. The exhibition not only illustrates the significance of the lobster throughout the history of art, but also contemplates the broader themes of mortality, conflict and the cyclical nature of existence.

At the center of the exhibition is a mosaic of marine fauna, with a battle between a lobster, a moray eel and an octopus in the centre. The profound meaning of this intricate conflict, says the artist, led him to produce the underwater fight scenes from the Pompeii series (2023 – present) exhibited here. Colbert explores the timeless struggle symbolized in the mosaic by the lobster, moray eel and octopus, weaving a narrative of perpetual conflict.