"The fourteen portraits in this exhibition, displayed among the Gallery’s Collection, are not primarily concerned with what the subjects look like. They are images about the nature of identity, snapshots taken from the narratives of people’s lives. Our sense of ourselves feels constant but our identity is an ongoing performance that is changed and adapted by our experiences and circumstances. We feel like we are the same person we were years before, but we are not.
As my subjects I have chosen individuals, families or groups that
somehow represent some important facets of the nature of our identity. I
have attempted to portray the character of the identity journey they
are facing. They have changed religion or gender, they have lost some of
their physical or mental faculties, they have lost status, they belong
to a group that is hoping it will be seen differently by society. All of
them, I thought, show us something of the negotiations we are all
involved in, unconsciously or otherwise, around who we feel we are and
how we are seen. For most of us, most of the time our identity works for us so we do not question it. But when it does not feel right, or is under threat, then we are suddenly made very aware of how central and vital our identity is."
Grayson Perry, 2014
A Map of Days
A self portrait as a fortified town, the wall is perhaps my skin. Each day I worked on it I finished by marking the point with the date to highlight the passage of time in the production of art to reflect the forming and reforming of one's identity. The 'self' I think is not a single fixed thing but a lifelong shifting performance. In the centre is an open space; there is no pearl, no central core; our 'selves' are but shifting layers of experience. My 'sense of self' is a tiny man kicking a tin can down the road.
Comfort Blanket
A
portrait of Britain to wrap yourself up in, a giant banknote; things we love,
and love to hate. A friend whose family had walked out of Hungary fleeing the
Soviet invasion in 1956 said her mother referred to Britain as her 'security
blanket.' As their plane came into land in the UK, the tannoy relayed a message
from the Queen saying 'Welcome to Britain, you are now in a safe country.'
People still come to our country for its stability, safety and rule of law. We
should be proud of that.
The Deaf
Of
all the identity groups I encountered, the deaf seemed the most challenging. Their insistence that deafness is a culture to be celebrated
rather than a disability is unsettling for many people. I was looking for
inspiration as to how to portray them when Tomato, the face on the thumb in
this poster, showed me his punk, spiky hearing aid covers. In a flash I
knew how I would portray them in a genre that referred to their political
energy. I have depicted the group as a new wave rock band, perhaps a little
mischievously, as I went to one of their parties and it was very quiet, with
everyone talking furiously in sign language.
Britain is Best
These are 5 loyalists from East Belfast. 4 of them
participated in a march I witnessed commemorating the centenary of the founding
of the Ulster Volunteer Force and I was fascinated and I was fascinated by how
exotic it felt. Ironically being fervently patriotic is not a particularly
British trait. Their portrait is in the form of an embroidered banner that
might be carried aloft on a march. I deliberately chose a colourful and very
jolly style as the murals that are everywhere in East Belfast veer towards the
dour and aggressive.
The Ashford Hijab
Perhaps,
surprisingly to some, Kayleigh represents the most likely group to convert to
Islam in the UK. What does Islam offer to a young white woman in her twenties?
The answer, I found, appears to be a refuge from nagging consumer pressures and
the constant, often sexual, scrutiny of women that is pervasive in Western
society. Conversion also offers a strong and supportive sisterhood within the
congregation of the mosque. I have portrayed Kayleigh and her children on the
symbolic path from the temple of consumerism that is the Ashford Designer
Outlet Centre to the focal point of the Muslim faith at Mecca.
Idealised Heterosexual Couple
The Rogers are a family that centres on ballroom dancing.
Father Colin is constantly ferrying daughters Jenna, Amy and Charlotte to
classes; mother Janey competes alonside them.They spend hours and hours of
exhausting practice perfecting a glitzy formalised version of the girl-boy
relationship. The irony is that Colin and Janey are divorced and he lives a few
miles away but dancing means that he sees more of his daughters than many a
live in father.
Memory Jar
Christopher
Devas has Alzheimers disease. He was an immensely capable business man,
magistrate and sailor. The tragedy for his wife Veronica is that not only is
the dementia robbing Christopher of his memory and his identity, it is also
destroying a large part of their shared memories. Close couples are joint
custodians of eachother's experiences. Veronica had dubbed the disease 'Altzy.'
I have portrayed it as a demonic figure, snipping up all their family snaps.
The Huhne
Vase
Chris Huhne
fell from grace when his wife revealed that he had asked her to take the blame
for a speeding offence so that he did not lose his driving license. He resigned
from the cabinet and was consequently jailed for perverting the course of
justice. I wanted to include Chris Huhne, for he represents what I call Default
Man:a white, middle class, middle aged, heterosexual man, an identity group
that hides in plain site. I have represented Chris as a series of repeat
patterns. This is a riposte to the common Default Man's defence that he is an
'individual' and his achievements and behaviour have nothing to do with a group
identity. I have smashed the pot and had it repaired with gold to symbolise
that vulnerability might be an asset in relationships for such a person.
The title
from this piece comes from a conversation I had with one of three wounded
veterans I have depicted. Stewart Hill showed me a photograph of a troop of
soldiers crossing a shallow river in Afghanistan. It was the last photo taken
before they were attacked, when he received a head wound that would change his
life. Stewart pointed at the photo; 'Just beyond there is the line of
departure, the starting point of the operation, the boundary between ground we
control and that controlled by the enemy.' I have designed this tapestry in the
style of an Afghan War rug. It shows Stewart Hill, Karl Hinett and Peter
Dunning crossing back over another battle line on their return to the challenge
of civilian life as a wounded soldier.
I AM MAN
When
Alex, a female to male transsexual, was a child, he was obsessed with the
character Peter Pan. This is understandable, for J.M. Barrie's creation, a
permanently per-pubescent boy traditionally played on stage by an adult woman,
has an air of fluidity around gender and sexuality. I have shown Alex echoing
the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, but in the style of some of my
favourite sculptures, the Benin bronzes of West Africa. I see him blowing the
horn almost as a allegory of identity in that we are all involved in a constant
call and response, affirming who we want to be and responding to the signals of
others.
The Earl of Essex
Rylan Clarke came fifth in the
talent show X-factor in 2012 and won Celebrity Big Brother a few weeks later in
January 2013. Now presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side, Rylan has become
famous in a very short period of time. In some ways celebrities are like the
aristocracy of our times and I have portrayed him on a miniature in the style
of the Elizabethan court. Rylan's striking looks brought to mind a dandyish
nobleman as portrayed by Nicholas Hilliard. The fame Rylan pursued comes at a
cost in that it unbalances relationships with strangers and friends alike. The
miniature implies a lost intimacy and also echoes the smart phone screen- the
natural home of the twenty-first-century celebrity portrait.
Modern Family
Jack and John are white male parents
who have adopted a mixed-race child, Shea. A complex mixture of identity issues
is highlighted by this very contemporary version of the family. Because they
are not a typical nuclear family Jack and John are consequently aware of the
process of good parenting. I think they teach us an important lesson; we
should not take it for granted that we know how to love and raise a
child, it needs though and practice to get it right.
I made drawings of the stuff I found interesting
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