The result of the twelve groups was the attempt to evoke a variety of external environment through theories that were inspired by communications guru Marshall McLuhan, as well as symbols of pop culture.
This is Tomorrow was nearly two years in the making, after architect and art critic Theo Crosby came up with the idea of mounting a large scale collaborative show at Whitechapel Gallery.
The This Is Tomorrow exhibition included artists, architects, musicians and graphic designers working together in 12 teams—referred to as "groups"—an example of multi-disciplinary collaboration that was still unusual.
The sense of involvement and fun carries through in the press clippings; journalists were most taken by the fact that the show was opened by Robby the Robot, star of the sci-fi movie Forbidden Planet and easier to book than Marilyn Monroe[citation needed].
[2] Frank Cordell assisted McHale with accessing the film posters such as Julius Caesar (1953) for the collage murals, the Forbidden Planet items, the juke box, and installing the film projector, and installing the Duchamp rotor discs given to McHale by Marcel Duchamp in New York.
[3] Frank Cordell also installed the electronic amplifier and microphone enabling the ambient sounds from audience cybernetic feedback.
The Senses panel with arrows featuring Tito was a joint collaboration between Hamilton and McHale, and the version[4] reproduced in the catalogue was slightly different in wording to alter the optical perception of viewers.
Group Six was composed of architects Alison and Peter Smithson and artists Eduardo Paolozzi and Nigel Henderson.
In a country still recovering from war, the spare architecture offered an exploration of the fractured, but enduring presence of quotidian life during conflict.