Tilda Swinton

Ongoing

28 September 2025 — 8 February 2026

On a black, horizontal image, two vertical images are placed. One is a detailed miniature portrait of an eye, with a slim oval, gold frame around it. On the left in a fish-eye optical effect stands actor Tilda Swinton in an elaborately-designed dress.

Joseph Sacco's Oeil de Jeune Femme, 1844 / Tilda Swinton, Fashion: Zac Posen, Francesco Scognamiglio and Gaspar Gloves, Houston, Texas, 2014 (© Tim Walker)

She will showcase new and existing work by eight artistic partners and close friends: Pedro Almodóvar, Luca Guadagnino, Joanna Hogg, Derek Jarman, Jim Jarmusch, Olivier Saillard, Tim Walker and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This marks the first time that Eye Filmmuseum has devoted such extensive attention to the creative influence of a performer.

This autumn, Eye presents Tilda Swinton – Ongoing, an exclusive exhibition dedicated to the celebrated Scottish performer, artist, and fashion icon. This unique and personal exhibition centres on Swinton’s creative collaborations.

Tilda Swinton photographed by Ruediger Glatz, 2024 © Ruediger Glatz

Tilda Swinton photographed by Sandro Kopp (© Sandro Kopp)

Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino will create a new, intimate portrait of Tilda Swinton in the form of a short film and a sculpture. Together with childhood friend and filmmaker Joanna Hogg, Swinton will present Flat 19, a multimedia reconstruction of her 1980s London apartment and an exploration of memory, space and personal history. With a new edit, image treatment and soundtrack, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch will transform existing footage from his absurdist zombie film The Dead Don’t Die (2019) into an entirely new installation.

Together with the distinguished fashion historian Olivier Saillard, Swinton will stage a multi-day performance that brings a special wardrobe to life: garments from her personal collection, film costumes, red carpet dresses and family heirlooms. They will also co-develop a special presentation together in which the clothing is displayed in the exhibition. Photographer Tim Walker has visited Tilda Swinton at her family home in Scotland for a photo series about her connection to her forebears and a continuity of place. Filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul also visited Swinton at her home; he will create an intriguing, meditative installation in which the presence of spirits and ancestors becomes palpable.

Tilda Swinton, Fashion: Yves Saint Laurent, Reykjavik, 2011 (© Tim Walker)

Tilda Swinton photographed by Jacqueline Lucas Palmer, 1991 © Jacqueline Lucas Palmer

In addition, Pedro Almodóvar will present his short film The Human Voice (2020), starring Swinton, for the first time in an installation format. Finally, Swinton pays tribute to one of her greatest inspirations, filmmaker Derek Jarman (1942–1994), with whom she made a total of nine films. A segment from The Last of England (1987) will be shown as an installation, alongside personal objects from Swinton related to their shared time and collaboration, as well as never-before-seen Super 8 footage—featuring Swinton as performer.

“With the honour of this extraordinary invitation, Eye has given me the opportunity to reflect on the mechanics of my working practice over the past forty years. And to come to rest on the - ever present - bedrock and battery of the close fellowships I found from the very first and continue to rely upon to this day. In focusing attention on profoundly enriching creative relationships in my life, we share the narratives and atmospheres that inspire us: we offer new work, especially commissioned for the Eye exhibition, as the most recent gestures borne out of various companionable conversations that keep me curious, engaged and nourished. An ongoing - and unbroken - thread of breadcrumbs through the wood, new leaves on long-established trees. The perpetual seedbed. I should be so lucky, in the gift of such an invitation, in such friends and in such a life.” – Tilda Swinton

Films, Talks & Other Events

During the exhibition, the cinemas will feature an extensive film programme of forty titles that highlight the breadth of Swinton’s versatile oeuvre. From underground and cult to family films and science fiction, Swinton appears in many guises but is always the magnetic centre. The films will be preceded by shorts she has selected from the Eye collection and from her own work.  Eye will also highlight two directors who hold special significance for Swinton: Derek Jarman and Joanna Hogg.

Ticket sales will start in early September. Keep an eye on our website and newsletter for more information.

Tilda Swinton in Conversation

Alongside the film programme, Eye will offer context for Swinton’s life and work in the form of Conversations and Specials. They will feature Swinton in discussion with various co-creators from the exhibition about their shared creative process.