Helena Geilinger’s cultural highlights

The writer and producer on the intensity of the documentary Fire of Love, the album spirit by cktrl, the anti-capitalist message of the book Old Hat, New Hat, the performance Supra by Jasleen Kaur and Rose Wylie's exhibition at the Royal Academy.

12th June 2026

Helena Geilinger

Helena Geilinger is a writer and arts producer based in Brighton. Her work combines autofiction, theory and journalism, exploring contemporary culture with sharp humour and incisive observations about everyday life. She has written for international platforms and has a biweekly publication, ‘Tahini Diaries’, where she shares critical essays, recipes and creative writing.

Documentary film: Fire of Love (2022) directed by Sara Dosa, National Geographic

I have always had a morbid fascination with apocalyptic footage. It started when I first learnt about nuclear weapons and attempted to assuage my fear through intense research. I spent hours watching videos of bombs exploding: a gateway to YouTube compilations of drowning cruise ships, giant sinkholes and imploding cooling towers. I have a taste for the sublime; that which terrifies, overwhelms and inspires awe. This documentary gluttonously feeds this predilection as it follows the lives of the daredevil volcanologist couple Katia and Maurice Krafft. Bubbling molten lava shifts in carpets across the screen, as great plumes of ash blanket landscapes in greyscale. The intense beauty of the colours and images defy comprehension, heightened further by the couple’s shocking proximity to 1200 degree Celsius volcanic cores. Fire of Love is a romance, action and art film rolled into one. The emotive soundtrack is enhanced by the distinct, poetic narration of author and artist Miranda July, elevating it above an archetypal nature documentary. As the couple said of their life-threatening practice, they would rather a ‘short intense life to a long monotonous one’, and watching this film delivers that experience fully.

https://films.nationalgeographic.com/fire-of-love

Album: spirit (2025) by cktrl

Like the first iced beverage of the year, this album is the perfect accompaniment to seasonal transitions. I listened to it obsessively last autumn as I watched the trees fall bare, landlocked in an armchair, breastfeeding my newborn twins. I favoured the sunrise feeds when I was too sleepy to read and too guilty to scroll – a rare opportunity to listen to music without pacing or rushing. I preferred albums more substantive than background classical but not too abrasive for the early hours. spirit unfurls like night becoming day, skies shifting from dusty violet to crisp blue. It captures the stillness of morning before the chaos of life descends; nostalgia for what’s ending and optimism for what’s to come. I have returned to this album as the seasons have shifted again: trees budding, daylight extending. Best enjoyed sitting with a sun-soaked face in the light jacket you’ve swapped for your heavy puffer, blinking at the first signs of spring.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5wEy1LKkVbEEKnyk9Ql5Ke

Book: Old Hat, New Hat (1970) by Stan and Jan Berenstain

One of my main cultural activities at present is reading children’s books. Babies are a rewarding audience; not yet able to understand the vocabulary, they respond with pure joy to any sound you make. Old Hat, New Hat is my current favourite. The story follows Brother Bear as he sees a hat in a shop window and decides it might be superior to the hat he is wearing. When he tries it on, the sales assistant encourages him to sample an array of frilly, spotty, silly, colourful choices, only to decide that the hat he already owns suits him best. It’s an anti-capitalist tale for the ages: be happy with what you have and don’t be tempted by the frivolous new. An important lesson when you find yourself drowning in garish plastic toys, marketed to make your baby a genius.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/old-hat-new-hat/stan-berenstain/jan-berenstain/9780001712812

Performance: Supra by Jasleen Kaur, part of Assembly at Somerset House Studios (2026)

This was the first performance I’d seen for some time, as I’m now rarely out after dark. I felt elated as I darted across London, agilely weaving crowds without a baby or bag. Comprising an ensemble of three musicians playing the dilruba and trumpet and singing, Supra is Turner Prize-winning artist Jasleen Kaur’s latest artwork. Each instrumentalist represented a role in society’s structures: border, Nation state, belief and body. Oscillating between independent and collaborative harmonies, sombre tones became energetic cacophonies, with samples including ‘Firestarter’ by The Prodigy. My fear of the warm, dark room lulling me to sleep was instantly quelled. The piece’s tonal tension and collaged arrangement symbolised how global events reverberate on both a public, macro level and on a personal, micro level. As the artist’s first performance work, the composition was expectedly unpolished, yet this lent the piece an inviting intimacy, like witnessing a rehearsal; each player figuring out how they fit together. Supra successfully captured one of life’s best moments, when different people unite in the hope of communicating, connecting and making meaning.

https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/assembly-2026/jasleen-kaur-onyeka-igwe-assembly-2026

Exhibition: Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First, Royal Academy of Arts (2026)

Wylie’s crude painting of a horse’s anatomy was the piece that drew me in. Its tongue protrudes as it gives the viewer a cheeky side-eyed stare. The caption claims the artist was ‘poking fun’ at her traditional art school training, an attitude that reverberates throughout the Royal Academy retrospective. Wylie’s joy in painting is palpable, evidenced by her making new work at 92 years old. Thinking expansively about what should be considered a ‘worthy’ subject matter, she depicts well-cooked omelettes, Royal couples and scenes from Kill Bill. What’s refreshing about her paintings is that she chooses objects based on their formal qualities, rather than their political or historical symbolism. Wylie’s childish renderings bring a levity to all her work, making even war planes feel witty and fun. Overall, the exhibition was an entertaining treat for the eyeballs and a pleasant antidote to the heaviness of our times.

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/rose-wylie

Favourite WritersMosaic writer: Taíno Mendez

I was lucky enough to hear Taíno Mendez read from their incredible novel Rainbow Milk in 2024, sharing their experiences of the Jehovah’s Witness community, sex work and their love of Sugababes. Their writing is singular and captivating, and the experience of hearing it live is a memory I cherish.