After being lucky enough to visit Grayson Perry’s fantastic House for Essex in Wrabness I’d always wanted to see more of his work, so when I discovered that a local gallery was to feature pieces from his collection linked to the house I couldn’t wait to go and see it. Oh my goodness, it surpassed my expectations that’s for sure.
Although featuring sketchbooks, drawings, photos, woodcuts, ceramics and tiles the undisputed stars of the show were the gigantic tapestries. While you absorbed the minute details of the fabric you could listen to an audio of the man himself narrating The Ballad of Julie Cope.
For a social historian it was an utter joy as the story draws you in to the point where you completely forget that Julie is, or was, a fictional character. These artworks represent, in Perry’s words, ‘the trials, tribulations, celebrations and mistakes of an average life’ and certainly resonated with me. I may not know much about art but I know what I like – and I liked it a LOT!
Life Begins at Fifty One and a Half 
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