Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry uses the domestic and decorative associations of ceramics to explore complex personal, social and cultural themes. This vase depicts motorcyclist Barry Sheene, punk singer Mark E. Smith, transsexual model April Ashley and 19th century artist Aubrey Beardsley. By placing them on a pottery vase, Perry assigns them the status of popular heroes in an imagined folk-art tradition.
Physical description
Coil-built earthenware vase bearing portraits of Mark E. Smith, Barry Sheene, April Ashley and Aubrey Beardsley.
Place of Origin
London, England (made)
Date
1994 (made)
Artist/maker
Perry, Grayson, born 1960 (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Earthenware, coil-built, incised and applied decoration, coloured slips and glazes, enamel, gilding
Marks and inscriptions
Seal mark incorporating a 'W' above an anchor, impressed
Dimensions
Height: 30.4 cm, Diameter: 31.0 cm
Descriptive line
Vase, 'My Heroes', Grayson Perry, London, 1994.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Yoshioka, Emiko (ed.). My Civilisation: Grayson Perry. Kanazawa: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007. pp. 22-23, 105.
Exhibition History
My Civilisation: Grayson Perry (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa 28/04/2007-31/08/2007)
Labels and date
Grayson Perry (born 1960)
‘My Heroes’
1994
Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry
uses the domestic and decorative
associations of ceramics to explore
complex personal, social and cultural
themes. This vase depicts motorcyclist
Barry Sheene, punk singer Mark E. Smith,
transsexual model April Ashley and 19th century
artist Aubrey Beardsley. By
placing them on a pottery vase, Perry
assigns them the status of popular heroes
in an imagined folk-art tradition.
Made in London
Earthenware, coil-built and glazed, with
incised decoration
Museum no. C.10-2009. Bought with the assistance of Dennis and
Charlotte Stevenson [18/09/2009]
Materials
Earthenware
Techniques
Incised; Applied work
Subjects depicted
Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent; Sheene, Barry; Smith, Mark E.; Ashley, April
Categories
Ceramics; Studio Pottery
Collection code
CER
