Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Pennwood House, Cassington, Oxford
21 April – 2 June
Reviewed by: Sally Davies
This exhibition uses the framework of tourism to reflect on British culture and heritage, aiming to “celebrate everything that makes Britain unique”. Such an agenda is potentially problematic and, whilst the tourist’s detachment may reveal previously unseen details, their experience is not always a comfortable, satisfying or authentic one. Fortunately the thirteen artists involved in the show take very different approaches to this theme, going beyond received notions of national identity.
Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale of the Caravan Gallery use the tropes of tourism in their work but look away from the tourist-board image of Britain. Instead their thorough and idiosyncratic observation of everyday life and leisure captures opportunistic picnicking and sunbathing, bizarre signage, rainy bank holidays, broken things and home improvements, provoking humour, melancholy and recognition.
Rosemary Shirley takes theorist Lucy Lippard’s advice to become a ‘tourist in her own town’, producing a special edition of her ‘zine Leisure Centre. Describing her awkwardness and anxieties when visiting her local sports centre, Shirley concludes that “leisure is rarely leisurely”, a sentiment we can all share. Her approach brings together the roles of observer and observed in a thoughtful adaptation of anthropology.
Curators Adam Bridgland and Lucy Gough both use certain kitsch elements of British leisure in their work. Bridgland designs sew-on badges which wouldn’t look out of place on a haversack or all-weather fleece with zealous mottos such as “Forward, Conquer! We have a car and can picnic in the country!” Gough’s prints also employ optimistic slogans but these are gentler in tone than Bridgland’s, suggesting “Support your Village Fete” and “Fingers crossed for a sunny day”. Her drawing Peaceful protest (rosette) (2007) really stands out with its message “Value your values” deftly satirising the slippery concept of ‘shared values’ so often touted in the political arena.
Other artists in the show display work which only relates to typically ‘British’ culture in a tangential way. Nick Morley’s brilliant prints of wrestlers are more of an exploration of masculinity and self-representation than anything else, whilst the glimpses of native wildlife in the folds of Suzy Q’s beautiful Origami Landscape (2007) are aesthetic devices to join natural forms to architectural shapes.
In spite of the difficulties in uniting the various artists under a single theme, this is a really engaging selection of work. The tourist aesthetic seems to have had some influence on the hanging of the show – there is plenty to see here, so much so that some of the work gets a little lost. However Sue and John Hemingway who run the gallery in their own home are great guides and have produced a detailed catalogue and website to accompany the exhibition.
Writer detail:
Sally Davies is an artist and writer based in London.
Venue detail:
Penwood House
Pound Lane, WITNEY OX29 4BN
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