I have been looking forward to seeing and reviewing this exhibition for some time. As I am a fan of Grayson Perry's work, and I have followed the progression of the idea for this set of work from when he announced it on his website. Seeing his work in the flesh, as well as seeing sketches of how it was made and the process her took.
The Adoration of the Cage Fighters was the first piece of work in this series by Grayson Perry and looks at a scene from Tim's great grandmothers front room. The entire series follows the life of Tim and his inevitable downfall at the end, at the hands of consumerism and a life surrounding by branding. We can see the mother holding Tim, wearing what can only be described as a clubbing outfit. To the right, we can see her friends, looking ready for a night out. In Perry's artist statement he says "...ready for a night out with her four friends, who have perhaps already been on the 'pre-lash'". As I gathered from the photograph, Tim obviously did not have the best start to life, which a lot of people say can either make or break a person's future.
The second tapestry in this series is titled The Agony of the Car Park and features Tim's stepfather, Tim and Tim's Mum stood on a hill overlooking the town in which he lives - Sunderland. It is loosely based on the painting "The Agony in the Garden" by Giovanni Bellini, with the computer magazine that hangs out of Tim's bag indicating his early interest in software that later becomes his successful career. All the photographs link visually, and although you cannot see that by just gazing at the tapestries, if you stand and concentrate for a period of time, it all fits together like a giant jigsaw.
Expulsion from Number 8 Eden Close shows Tim, now a undergraduate studying computer science, and his then girlfriend walking together, with two situations on the right and left. The left shows Tim's parents with their luxury car, looking dark and scary, maybe hinting at the sad family background Tim grew up in? To the right, we see the opposite side, his girlfriends family welcoming Tim to the family home. In the text that accompanies the image, it reads "their house (Tim's parents) was so clean and tidy, not a speck of dust... or a book, apart from her god, Jamie. She says I have turned Tim into a snob. His parents don't appreciate how bright he is. My father laughed at Tim's accent but welcomed him onto the sunlit uplands of the middle classes".
The Annunciation of the Virgin Deal focusses on the successful selling of Tim's idea to Richard Branson who owns Virgin Media, and the sudden wealthiness of Tim as a businessman. To the left, an elderly couple read, with his child on the floor playing. This piece looks at the ignorance of people due to technology and how we ignore people who are right next to us for virtual communication.
The penultimate tapestry is titled The Upper Class at Bay and is based upon the famous Thomas Gainsborough painting of the landed gentry. The couple who have just become millionaires watch the old aristocratic stag with its old tweed jacket being hunted down by the dogs, which represent tax, social change, upkeep and fuel bills. Behind this scene, there is a protest movement occurring, protesting against the upper class and the "fat cats".
The last tapestry in the series is called #Lamentation and shows the downfall of Tim and the life that he has lived. Tim is at the side of a road, after a car racing accident left him for dead. His second wife, stood at the side in tears, he handbag spilled out over the phone and he iPhone is smashed at his feet. His dog lies dead by the side of the car, a victim in a stupid race where Tim did not wear his seatbelt, blinded by his own stupidity. Again, this tapestry echoes the technological downfall of society, people in the background take photographs of the incident, presumably to upload to social media sites and send to the news.
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