The exhibition includes a range of Finlay's Revolutionary works, including the imposing eleven metre carved relief The Sound of Running Water, 1990, which was shown in the Bienal de São Paulo in 2012. This work features an evocative line that could serve as the introduction to themes of poetry and politics, and of beauty and immanence in the artist's work: 'THE SOUND OF RUNNING WATER HEARD THROUGH THE CHINKS IN A STONE DYKE: REVOLUTION'.

Aphrodite of the Terror, 1987 is a plaster sculpture based on the Hellenic statue of the Greek goddess of love and beauty known as the Medici Venus. In Finlay's version she is adorned around the neck with a red string. The string is a reference to the thin red silk chokers worn by women whose loved ones had been executed during the Terror.

The wall painting Apollo and Daphne, After Bernini, 1991, depicts the Greek myth in which the wood nymph Daphne is transformed into a tree whilst fleeing from the god Apollo. The work is based on the sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), and stands as a comment on the French Revolution, in which, arguably, the revolutionary pursued ideals to the point of destruction. Finlay's appropriation and re-interpretation of this mythological allegory highlights the contemporary resonance of classical subjects and forms.

The exhibition is accompanied by two catalogues. The first features commentaries by Stephen Bann on each of the works in the exhibition. The other volume is dedicated to a garden Finlay created in London's Chelsea, and includes photographs by Robin Gillanders and an essay by Thomas A Clark.