Grayson Perry presents this art installation show at Abbot Hall Art Gallery, in Kendal from now until Saturday the 16th of February. The acclaimed artist has once again created a piece that breaks with tradition and exceeds expectations.
Julie Cope is a fictional character, an Essex every woman, born in 1959 who dies suddenly on a Colchester street. The tapestries illustrate key events in Julie’s life and record the trials and little victories of an ordinary life. They also document key social events in Britain, throughout the latter part of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The tapestries are also accompanied by an audio, called The Ballad of Julie Cope, which is voiced by Grayson Perry himself and which provides further information and insight into the tale of Julie Cope’s life.
Tapestries were traditionally used to tell the tales of the privileged upper classes, hence why Perry has opted to use it to tell such a run of the mill, working-class story. He takes inspiration from the English folk tradition to give shape and colour to his protagonist's tale.
Tickets are priced at £7.70 for adults and concessions go free.