'DON'T ASK' A solo show by multidisciplinary artist Duncan Weston

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‘DON’T ASK’

We invite you to experience the world of multidisciplinary artist Duncan Weston at new show ‘DON’T ASK’. The show is the culmination of a three-month artist-in-residency in a new DIY creative space in the heart of Plymouth’s cultural quarter. Weston embodies and utilises the building and its surroundings at a time when this 120-year-old building begins its transition from its purely commercial past. 

AN EVER-UNFOLDING STORY IN THE WINDOW

Weston is fascinated with the hidden infrastructure of local entertainment, culture, delicacies and folklore of a place. He learns the map of a city via its fly posters, graffiti, things of unintentional interest and the people he meets. As he traverses Plymouth, he collects materials and ideas which are being retold in a narrative and ever-unfolding story in the building’s front window for passers-by as they walk up and down North Hill.

A RESIDENCY IN PLYMOUTH AND ONGOING JOURNEY

The multi-media show marks the end of Weston’s residency and an ongoing journey.  Now aged 49½, Weston has occupied spaces across capital metropolises, from London to Amsterdam, to seaside towns and cities, including his hometown of Folkestone, and now Plymouth.  The show questions consumerism within society, reflecting back to us our own desires and insecurities with reassuring effervescent nostalgia. Weston shares his experience through the eyes of an iconic fashion house and designer mogul, which includes wearing the brand head to toe for over 25 years. This obsession became to mean more to his own identity and aspirations, even the semblance of a father figure, as Weston becomes the brand and the space turns into a luxury flagship store. 

PART OF A YEAR-LONG SERIES OF POP-UP CULTURAL EVENTS

Weston’s show will be the first of a year-long series of pop-up cultural events working with partners to experiment and celebrate the building, its surroundings, heritage and looks to the future in terms of sustainability, inclusion, food and drink, grassroots arts, music and culture.  The top floors have recently been converted into studios, which are now creative home to painters, audio artists, printmakers, installation and socially engaged artists.