Covid-19 was an extremely challenging and difficult time across the globe as the world was turned on its head and ground to a halt. Lockdowns and restrictions were put in place that made us, as a society, question our place within it and examine both our relationship to ourselves and to others. As communities rallied together the best they could, great expression and humanity was to be found in the support networks and bubbles that grew out of the darkness.
Indeed, Grayson Perry’s time spent in lockdown also brought joy to the lives of many through his highly acclaimed “Grayson’s Art Club” TV show that helped the nation find comfort and company through art.
Each week on Zoom, Grayson and his wife Philippa spoke to famous artists and creatives about how they were spending their time and invited them to respond creatively to lockdown. A different theme was explored each week – family, nature, food, dreams, work, and travel.
The public were also invited to share their artworks and over 17,000 entries were submitted throughout the series in a vast range of mediums – from paintings and photography, to ceramics and textiles.
Following on from lockdown an exhibition of art works chosen by Grayson Perry and guest celebrities was held. Spread across three floors in the museum, this blockbuster show was a vibrant and poignant chronicle of lockdown.
The artworks made by the public, established artists, and celebrities were powerful and very personal responses to the pandemic. Collectively, they form a lasting artistic record of the unprecedented times the nation has experienced together.
Created as part of the series, “England as seen from Lockdown in Islington” was a further gift by Grayson to the nation. It can be likened to other map themed works created by Perry including “A Map of Nowhere” and “Print for a Politician” amongst others.A great chronicler, Perry’s use of maps as a medium of expression has witnessed him create seminal pieces that delight, shock and amuse.
In “England as seen from Lockdown in Islington” we can see Perry challenging and questioning his surroundings. Reality and imagination combine as the fantastical greets classical cartography in a fairytale reportage set to a background of warming paisley. Punctuated with bright, warming oranges and neon blues, the work is typically Perry with wild insights into how the artist himself felt about the lockdown period.
On the work, he says, ‘When I was working on this, I was thinking about how we were all travelling in our imaginations. I’ve put the floral material in the background there. So very English. It evokes an idea of England, but a kind of trapped, slightly stifling suburban idea of England.’
From the edition of 150, the work can be set within Perry’s wider modus operandi of creating pieces that heavily draw from an almost folkloric view of the world and are interspersed with comedy and lightness that balances out darker tones.
Discover more Grayson Perry prints for sale or to buy Grayson Perry ceramics and vases, contact Andipa via sales@andipa.com or call 020 7589 2371.