As a big fan of Grayson Perry's work, I HAD to go and see the exhibition at Manchester City Gallery. I was pleased to see he had also picked out interesting artefacts from the gallery's archives. I had already seen some of the pots on display at his Walthamstow Tapestry show in London but it was a treat to see them again. The new pots were typical of his work, a perfect balance of tweeness and crassness, with phallic symbols against desolate rural scenes, dotted with motifs of Grayson's alter-ego 'Claire' and beautiful gold transfers of condoms littering the countryside. He is wonderful at juxtaposing traditional and modern culture, but with a sense of humour.
My favourite pieces from the exhibition were the leather punk jacket he selected and the huge Victorian wrestlers pants.
70s punk has been a great influence upon me and British Fashion, if not international, so it was fascinating to see an original garment, modified and worn by a punk and such a good example. it appeared to be covered in Tipp-ex and spray paint and was handstudded. I like the brave approach to customisation, they weren't afraid to take risks and it paid off, something I need to work on... The anarchic attitude of some punks (anarchic rather than revolutionary) also fascinates me. Punks put across a nihilistic image, standing as disparate youths who didn't care about anything or anyone, yet great time and effort was clearly put into creating this jacket, to create the perfect nonchalant image.
And I just found the wrestling shorts quite amusing. They just seem rather rude in comparison to the prude Victorians. I loved that they were lived in, with worn patches at the crotch and a little Union Jack sewn at the corner. I feel that both these garments are worn with a sense of pride and it reiterates that clothing and fashion will always have relevance. It is not an exclusive and cold business, fashion is highly personal and sentimental.
