Towner Eastbourne: Grayson Perry, ‘Map of Nowhere’, 2008, and Barbara Walker, ‘Burden of Proof’ 2022
12.11.23
Towner Eastbourne is an art gallery in the seaside town of Eastbourne, East Sussex. The gallery is unmissable thanks to its swooping, rainbow mural by artist Lothar Götz, and it sits a very short distance from the English Channel, which is roiled and restless on the occasion of this gallery visit.
In the gallery’s centenary year of 2023, it is host to the Turner Prize. The four shortlisted artists’ works do not feature prints, but since drawing is a close companion of printmaking, and the work references inkjet printing, Barbara Walker’s work Burden of Proof merits a mention. Freehand, Walker has executed largescale charcoal wall drawings. They are lifelike representations of individuals affected by the 2018 Windrush scandal. We see portraits overlaid with documents relating to the subjects, which present documentary evidence to support their right to remain in the U.K. Through the translucent, hovering documents we glimpse an oblique insight into their lives, whilst, through this anodyne framing, we perceive the racist violence of the Windrush scandal, which saw elderly British people be denied healthcare, be detained and even deported. The documents are both formally and conceptually intriguing; the words almost attain three dimensions, alluding to the power of marks on a surface, whether they be an artefact of bureaucracy, or a work of art. The obvious care and time poured into these drawings has the effect of condemning the absurd and capricious actions of U.K. government, which firstly invited its Commonwealth subjects to immigrate, in order to deal with post-war labour shortages, only decades later to treat tax-paying citizens as illegal immigrants. The monumental scale of this work is offset by the softness of its medium, so that unlike an inert and complacent public monument in bronze, these portraits, which appear to float so delicately, speak to a sense of mortality and vulnerability. The drawings will be erased after the exhibition closes on the 24th of April 2024. Barbara Walker was born in Birmingham in 1964 to Jamaican parents.
The Ravilious Gallery and Collection Library is an unassuming gem within Towner Eastbourne, where a changing exhibition of works by Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) and other artists is displayed. It houses an art library, which focuses on the artists represented within the collection, and a small, sedate study space. The presence of the nearby grey sea can be felt as one sits to browse a book, for example, of work by Tacita Dean. At the time of this visit, there is a selection of prints on display by artists including Gertrude Hermes, Eric Ravilious and Paule Vézalay (see snaps below). Altar-like, at the back of the room, is Map of Nowhere, 2008, by Grayson Perry, a five plate etching. At 153x113cm, it is striking in scale. Maps are a recurring theme in Perry’s work, often describing psychological and cultural landscapes. This work is inspired by the Ebstorf Map, and also strongly evokes the Mappa Mundi. Perry’s likeness is fragmented, Christ-like, partly subsumed by the fantastical cartography, and partly providing it with a skeleton. The diagramatic image comprises multiplicitous vessels and chambers, offering sumptuous and comical detail, and as our eyes loop around the image, taking in its seemingly endless references, we are led to ponder our own internal landscape.
