An invader's guide to the British Isles

- Ferry, David

Title
An invader's guide to the British Isles
Creator
Ferry, David
Date
2016
Type
Text; Visual art work
Identifier
http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/154220
Identifier
vital:11064
Abstract
Lying on the coffee table are picture books that tell us all we need to know about Britain: its history and geography combined. This printed matter supplies the artist David Ferry with both his subject and his raw material. Guides of the nation’s heritage imagine an innocent landscape where the manners and attitudes of the genteel middle classes of England prevail. Into these Ferry has inserted cut out images from neighbouring picture books that demonstrate the practices of the active hobbyist. Woollen garments adorn figures from British history; tropical fish swim through the great halls of stately mansions; rock climbers ascend national monuments; and confectioners bake their own public art works. The consequence of these additions is humorous undermining of an accepted narrative. Providing a survey of David Ferry’s continued visual exploration of guides to British Heritage, this exhibition features work from series that span twenty-five years. The picture books, found in charity shops, are first subjected to simple cut and paste tampering; this is then refined through printmaking processes both traditional and digital. Resultant artist books and prints demonstrate a consistency of address that pokes fun at the polite and confident assertions of the conservative viewpoint. David Ferry RE, is Emeritus Professor of Printmaking at Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, RE, and printmaking consultant for the Sidney Nolan Trust in the UK. He has exhibited extensively in the UK and internationally, with recent solo exhibitions in Berlin, China, London, New York, Poznan and Seoul. His work can be found in public and corporate collections including Museum of Modern Art, New York; Ashmolean, Oxford; Art Institute of Chicago; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Museum of Wales, Cardiff and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. He is also included in many international university collections, and the libraries of Cambridge, Oxford, Dublin, Edinburgh, and the British Library London. David Ferry is a Pollock/Krasner Grantee from New York. David Ferry is represented by Booklyn, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Booklyn is the premier gallery and protagonists in the USA for the promotion and impact of the genre of the artists Book and very well known on the Australian museum and state library circuit As a gallery and promoters of the genre, Booklyn has been a powerful presence in events such as Photo-Melbourne and Photo-Sydney. A considerable amount of contemporary American/international 'book arts' placed in national institutions in Australia have been sourced originally through Booklyn, and through the presence of one of the senior directors, Marshall Weber, a regular visitor to Australia, particularly Melbourne. Weber was recently artist in residence at the Victorian College of Arts, Melbourne and Creative Consultant for the Australian National Veterans Art Museum. Marshall Weber's works are represented in private and public Australian Collections, including the Australian War Memorial and the State Libraries of Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. booklyn.org Image: Standing Form No 3, 2015 Public Sculpture in England series 2015/16 digital archive print with stencil & varnish with gold leaf 594 x 841mm Courtesy the artist and Booklyn, Brooklyn, NY. Exhibition held at Post Office Gallery, Ballarat - 26 Oct – Sun 20 Nov 2016
Publisher
Post Office Gallery, Federation University Australia, Ballarat
Rights
This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
Subject
1905 Visual Arts and Crafts
  • Hits: 432
  • Visitors: 474
  • Downloads: 55
Thumbnail File Description Size Format
SOURCE1 JPEG Image 116 KB JPEG Image