It is hard to believe that Julie Cope’s Grand Tour at Dovecot Studios is Grayson Perry’s first solo exhibition in Scotland. Perry is perhaps one of the most well-known British artists amongst the general public and his work seduces by its eccentricity. He, together with his alter-ego Claire, are not afraid of going against codes of contemporary art – their work is visually loud with bold colours and a clear narrative.
The exhibition focusses on the story of Julie Cope, a fictional character born in 1953 in Essex, told through the media of tapestry, ballad and architecture. The first room is composed of a balancing act between Perry’s eloquent voice, reading the ballad out loud, and three kaleidoscopic large-scale tapestries. Both tell the same story of Julie’s life, unfolding chronologically, from left to right. Both reference media with strong historical connotations that are being confronted to contemporary culture. However, what makes this work extraordinary, is in fact the ordinariness of Julie Cope’s story. Perry describes her as ‘a working-class woman who went with the default settings of her generation’. Her life is full of ups and downs, a broken marriage and a second love, all ending in a sudden but somewhat uneventful death, making her the most unlikely character to be immortalised in such a grandeur. She is the epitome of the working class, usually ignored and excluded from the art discourse. Nonetheless, there she is, glorified just like saints and royals.
Perry is not only shifting perspectives – he also plays with the viewer. He has infused his work with subtle references: imitating medieval craftsmen and -women, he plays with iconography by adding personal touches, such as his bear-like mascotte Alan Measles or a cryptic signature composed of a ‘W’ and an anchor. The viewer is expected to actively engage with the visual codes, to spend time. In fact, time seems to be as a central theme – tapestries and ballads are made to last and so does The Life of Julie Cope, produced in 2015 and still touring. In a fast paced world of contemporary art, the work feels a little dated, but therefore it becomes even more contemporary, taking a stance for durability. De facto, it is already a continuation of another project – A House for Essex, an ambitious architectural collaboration presented in the second part of the exhibition. Built together with FAT Architecture for Living Architecture, A House for Essex is a unique construction, that takes inspiration from Orthodox churches, whilst being covered in tiles with reliefs of safety pins alternating with a repeating bas-relief of a female Celtic figure.
Perry’s art is all about unexpected amalgamations. It opens up the gallery space through storytelling and its relatable characters help us to unlearn our expectations.
- Franco Building with Jonathan Meades (BBC 4) - 28th August 2019