As you enter the doors to the latest exhibition in the basement of the wonderful Wallace Collection, the ubiquitous museum attendant is on hand with headsets, 'would you like the audio guide?' Whatever your regular response, in this case it is a resounding, YES PLEASE. It is essential to your enjoyment of this eccentrically unusual show.
In the first room, the back wall is covered with what looks like a blown up black and white photograph of an old lady sitting on a gilt chair in one of the upstairs galleries, seemingly reading a letter. In your ears, the familiar voice of Grayson Perry reads its contents - and the handwritten original is laid out in the cabinet in front of you. Addressed to Wallace, the old lady says she is the Honourable Millicent Wallace an illegitimate daughter claiming her rightful inheritance: Manchester House and its contents. Also in the cabinet is a yellowed newspaper cutting, reporting the scandal which has turned out to be the delusional claims of a Shirley Smith. It is all rather fascinating. And totally fabricated. Shirley (and Millicent) are figments of Perry's imagination but we go into the show proper having bought into the artifice of their existence.
With 40 ceramics, tapestries and sculptures (most of which are explained by either Perry or Shirley in the audio guide), you are taken on a trip through both Wallace's art collection and the life of this mentally fragile and damaged lady.
Gun for Shooting into the Past addresses the anachronisms inherent in a collection that is as famous for its weapons as its ornate Rococo; the nature of inherited traits are explored in A Tree in a Landscape, an intricate family tree of mental health diagnoses created from 18th and 19th century miniature portraits; and kids will enjoy looking at The Story of My Life, a giant tapestry interwoven with treasures from the collection that asks the question, how does our experience affect how we respond to art?
In the second room, covered in specially designed wallpaper, are exhibits from Shirley's time in Manchester House, complete with ornate bed and armoire.
It is not for little ones. Covering mental health struggles and abuse, it is best suited to teens but it is thought-provoking, at times touching and great fun. You don't necessarily have to consider Grayson Perry himself to be a great artist to enjoy the experience. It would be especially good for reluctant gallery goers who think 'art' is not for them. I am marching my teenage son there over the Easter holidays.
Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur Wallace Collection, 28 March–26 October. Tickets: £15 adults, £10 ages 18–25, £5 ages12–17, U12s free.
Emily Turner
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