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Presented as a huge lightbox illuminating the secular, baroque chapel from its ‘impious’ placement on the altar, the portrait reworks the motif of mother and child which formed part of Perry’s recent Channel 4 series, Rites of Passage.
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Centuries of art history and religious symbolism meet high-camp parody in this iconic and iconoclastic, vulgar appropriation for the 21st Century.
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The Fitzrovia Chapel is open each Wednesday between 11:00 and 16:00 for reflection and quiet thought. It is also an opportunity to look around the chapel and see for yourself the breathtaking interior of this hidden treasure in the heart of central London.
Exhibition
Birth: A Portrait of Grayson Perry by Richard Ansett
25 Jan 2019 – 30 Jan 2019
Event times
11:00 to 16:00
Cost of entry
Cost of entry to the exhibition and talks is free.
Address
- Fitzroy Place
- 2 Pearson Square
- London
England - W1T3BF
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- Tottenham Court Road/New Oxford Street, Goodge Street
- Warren Street, Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street
Photographer Richard Ansett presents a complex representation of artist Grayson Perry in the gorgeous surroundings of the Fitzrovia Chapel. A reworking of the motif of mother and child, this huge lightbox will illuminate the chapel from an impious placement on the altar.
About
Artist Grayson Perry will unveil an ‘iconic and iconoclastic’ portrait of himself at the Fitzrovia Chapel, part of an exhibition running at the end of January. Presented as a dramatic lightbox illuminating the secular, baroque chapel from its ‘impious’ placement on the altar, the portrait reworks the motif of mother and child. Conceived by renowned photographer Richard Ansett, it focuses on Perry’s alter ego, Claire. It balances the influence of centuries of art history with high- camp photographic parody, a vulgar appropriation for the 21st Century.
Ansett and Perry
Ansett met Perry for the first time in 2013 at the Tate Modern, Starr Auditorium, photographing him for the BBC Reith lectures and has worked with Perry every year since for Channel 4 developing photographic strategies to promote Perry’s documentaries of contemporary British life.
Personal themes
Diane Smyth at the British Journal of Photography recognises that Ansett’s portraits “do not flatter to deceive”. On closer inspection, the aesthetic conventions of his work are balanced with the existential mortal detail of Perry’s humanity. Ansett himself recognises that the portrait process is more than mere documentation but is a revealing record of the relationship between artist and sitter. Birth is both representative of Perry and meets Ansett’s own long-term personal themes.
Quotes
Grayson Perry said: ‘It’s like art.’
Richard Ansett, photographer, said, ‘”Claire is not a natural mother. This is a trans-immaculate conception and a perfect synergy with The Fitzrovia Chapel.”
Faye Hughes, Artistic Director, the Fitzrovia Chapel, said, ‘We are thrilled to be opening 2019 with the bright lights and glorious contradictions of Richard Ansett’s Birth. An artist photographing an artist dressed as a woman illuminating a secular chapel that’s dressed like a traditional church. Perfect.’
Exhibition details
Exhibition dates (free entry): Friday 25 to Wednesday 30 January 2019, 11:00 to 16:00
Talks (free entry):13:00, Saturday 26 January and Tuesday 29 January
No ticket is needed for the exhibition or talks. Please just come to the chapel.
Press contact details
For press information, an invitation to the private view, interviews or images, contact Madeleine Boomgaarden, Media Lead, the Fitzrovia Chapel: media@fitzroviachapel.org (07832 1900 15).
