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The Vanity of Small Differences
Grayson Perry
The Walker Gallery
as part of Liverpool’s Modern Masters Series
16th May – 10th August 2014
Part of Late Night 2014
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| The Agony in the Car Park, 2012 © Grayson Perry. Photography © Stephen White |
A series of six tapestries by the Turner Prize winning artist (2003) Grayson Perry CBE (54) will be shown this summer at the Walker Art Gallery as part of Liverpool Biennial 2014.
Produced in 2012 as part of the documentary BAFTA award winning Channel Four series “In the Best Possible Taste”, they analyse the ideas of taste held by the different social classes of the United Kingdom.
The six tapestries (2 x 4 m) are inspired by William Hogarth’s 18th century morality paintings “A Rake’s Progress”, a series of eight paintings produced in 1772-73, that chart the rise and fall of a fictional hero from working class origins, marries in to middle class, makes himself enough money to buy himself and upper class lifestyle and then dies a tragic death.
Perry’s work chronicles the narratives of his observations of social class, taste, aspiration and social identity from Perry’s televisual “safari amongst the taste tribes of Britain” (Perry), in Sunderland, where he sets his first tapestries.
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| The Adoration of the Cage Fighters, 2012 © Grayson Perry. Photography © Stephen White |
Perry’s astute social observation depicts the societal injustices and hypocrisies of the myths and realities surrounding the concept of social class, including ‘old money’ snobbery, industrial decline, the shattering of communities and lives through job losses.
Gifted by the artist and Victoria Miro Gallery London to the Arts Council and the British Council and supported by the Art Fund, Sfumato Foundation, and AlixPartners, the six works are on a UK tour and are part of the National Museums Liverpool's Modern Masters exhibition series, part funded by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Jill Constantine, Acting Head, Arts Council Collection said: “The Vanity of Small Difference” has attracted huge public interest and we’re delighted that the people of Liverpool will now have the opportunity to see these extraordinary tapestries for themselves”.
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