The Unicorn Theatre, the UK’s leading venue for young audiences, will host I See You Like This, an interactive exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist Jessica Wilson, from Saturday 24 May to Thursday 31 July 2025.
This unique exhibition invites children to become art directors, using the face of a parent or guardian as a canvas to create imaginative photo-portraits.
I See You Like This is part of a national tour in partnership with Sheffield Theatres, Theatre Hullabaloo in Darlington, and Jelly in Reading.
The project flips the traditional dynamic of family photography, giving children the opportunity to capture their parents from their own perspective.
Created by Australian artist Jessica Wilson, the exhibition explores the bond between parent and child and how identity is shaped through this relationship.
The Unicorn’s Creative Hub collaborated with photographer Daisy Gaston and local families to produce a new collection of portraits for the London exhibition.
Each child selected an object that represented their parent before directing the portrait, which was then professionally photographed.
Running alongside the main exhibition, I See You Like This: Create Your Own will offer a hands-on experience from 24 May to 1 June, allowing families to create their own portraits.
Jessica Wilson said, “It is extraordinary watching how this experience plays out between each child and their parent. Parents step back from any need to frame the world for their child, and in the process often get a rare new understanding of who their child is. I have worked with thousands of parent/child pairs and I never get bored of seeing kids’ perception of their parents expressed in the most amazing and hilarious artworks. I love this project. I have worked with so many different parents and children and never tire of the beautiful bond between them and the subversive creations of the children.”
Rachel Bagshaw, Artistic Director and co-CEO of the Unicorn Theatre, added, “The Unicorn often represents their first encounter with arts for children. I See You Like This offers a unique opportunity for younger generations to be the artist. This process chimes deeply with our own belief in making space for children to lead creative processes and be the expert in their own view of the world.”
A parent participant from Denver, USA, shared, “It was an amazing experience. It was transformative and moving. … [This work] is packaged in a way that the audience could just see it as beautiful and sweet, but depending on outlook and life experiences, experience it viscerally, which unexpectedly occurred to me.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
