The House of Tarot
Herman Kiefer Hospital
Detroit, Mich.
April 25, 2025
A woman with nails like claws places a tiny incense holder in my hand filled with a cone of mugwort. Her shaggy hair covers her face, but I know the mysterious lady is herbalist and artist Zarah Ackerwoman, which means the room I’m about to enter is bound to be spooky, magical, and spectacularly weird.
My instincts are right, as bottles of potions crowd tables and corners like I’ve stumbled upon a witch’s lair in the midst of a private ritual. Fitting then, that Ackerwoman’s room is an installation representing The Magician card in The House of Tarot exhibit.
The House of Tarot is a group show featuring 22 artists exploring the Major Arcana cards of the tarot deck. The show is spread across four floors inside Detroit’s former Herman Kiefer Hospital complex, which feels like it’s situated right in the middle of the Silent Hill Nightmare World and Pyramid Head could strut out at any moment. Curated by Ashely Worden, Zoe Beaudry, ACE, AJ Kesler, and Ryan Doyle, the show includes work by Quinn Faylor, Sean Hages, Justus Harris, Kass Hyde, Uta Brauser, Marlo Broughton, John Dunivant, Jason REVOK, Ed Bullock, Zarah Ackerman, Jak Kiseleva, Dana Nyquist, David McGuffie, Carmel Liburdi, Matt Rozensky, Franny Mendes Levitin, and Ian MacLachlan. It opened on Friday, April 25 and closes on Saturday, May 10.
Before taking the Fool’s journey, visitors step in front of a screen that gives them a digital tarot reading, showing your card for the evening. Mine was The World, symbolizing the completion of a journey and connection to all that is, was, and will be.
I found myself most entranced by artists that made creative use of the space to provide an immersive experience. Much like Silent Hill’s crumbling Nightmare World, some of the installations threatened to suck me in, transporting me into the darkest parts of the artist’s psyche, while others just felt like art hanging in an abandoned building.
Zoe Beaudry’s interpretation of The Tower card is a good example of the former. A foreboding hallway crackles with the sound of lightning and thunder. Anxiety builds as you journey through the darkness, anticipating the moment of horror when lightning strikes, but when you arrive in the room the sound is coming from, you’re met with flashing lights and exposed plumbing, which isn’t so scary after you sit with it. On the other side is a much brighter room with some of Beaudry’s photorealistic paintings, including a self portrait where she pulls a rainbow thread from her nostril.
Beaudry’s room is one that makes the most sense for the card she is representing. The Tower represents a moment of immense and often painful change. Think about the imagery of the card in the Rider-Waite deck — two people falling from a tower set ablaze after being struck by lightning. The moments leading up to the lightning impact are scary, but once you’re in it, you may realize that it’s simply what needed to happen. On the other side of the “tower moment” is something greater suited for you, a moment of peace that (hopefully) will allow you to return to what feels true and just for your life.
Matt Rozensky’s Judgment installation, tucked in a demonic elevator shaft, is a portal to another dimension. Quinn Faylor’s work in The Hermit is probably the most visually appealing in the building, reimagining the grey-cloaked wanderer akin to Norse god Odin in colorful robes with streaks of light emanating from their lantern and filling the room. I fell in love with Jak Kiseleva’s Death chandelier adorned with bones and antlers, showing us that death is a beautiful transformation and the ultimate chance for rebirth.
A slew of performances will coincide with the exhibit at the adjacent Container Globe, including the “Fool’s Evening” featuring DJ Seven Whales, Shrinq Mountin, Lamoon Gifts & Art, One Crafty Mama, and tarot readings by Madame Brute, on Saturday, May 5.
The House of Tarot is located in Building 7 of the Herman Kiefer Complex at 1151 Taylor St, Detroit. Visiting hours are Thursday through Sunday 5:25- 8:25 p.m. until May 10. For more info, see houseoftarotdetroit.com.
This review was published in partnership with Detroit Metro Times.
