Grayson Perry exhibition begins at Salisbury Cathedral
It's running until September
A series of tapestries created by artist and TV presenter Grayson Perry have gone on display at Salisbury Cathedral.
The 'Vanity of Small Differences' exhibition starts today (Wednesday 29th June) and runs until September 25th.
A decade after they were originally made, Grayson Perry’s series of six huge tapestries chart the life of Tim Rakewell have gone on show.
Tim Rakewell is a character inspired by eight paintings entitled The Rake’s Progress by the C18 artist William Hogarth.
Each tapestry explores a different stage of life in Tim’s life and includes many of the characters, incidents and objects Grayson Perry encountered on journeys through Sunderland, Tunbridge Wells and The Cotswolds when filming a series for Channel 4.
The tapestries have toured extensively over the last few years, but this is the first time that they will have been seen in an ecclesiastical setting.
Grayson Perry said:
“I am hugely pleased and proud that The Vanity of Small Differences is being shared by the Arts Council and British Council Collections in this way. The work has travelled all around the country and the world – and now to Salisbury Cathedral, for this first showing in a religious space. It was conceived as a public artwork, and I wanted to see them shared with very wide and varied audiences. My hope remains that for those visiting the exhibition in Salisbury Cathedral, it not only delights the eye and engages visitors, but also sparks debate about class, taste and British society.”
The Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury, said:
“Perry’s subject in this sequence is social class, and the myriad ways in which not only economic factors but also habits and tastes differentiate human beings one from another. This can be challenging. Perry asks us to see ourselves as others may see us, and he also asks us to acknowledge the ways in which we judge others. This, I believe, is worthy of exploration in a Cathedral context. Self-questioning and self-reflection are vital disciplines in the life of faith, just as welcoming and honouring people from every walk of life is part of our vocation as a place of prayer and worship and as a place which is visited by thousands.”