Out On Display #12: My Heroes


Furniture, Textiles & Fashion
November 17, 2014

CIS:C.10-2009

 

 

 

‘My Heroes’

Grayson Perry

England, earthenware, 1994

Bought with the assistance of Dennis and Charlotte Stevenson

C.10-2009

On display in room 142

 

 

Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry regularly examines the subjects of masculinity and transvestism within his artwork. He often appears in public dressed as his female alter-ego Claire and has spoken frankly his life as a transvestite.

 

In his autobiography Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, Grayson Perry describes discovering the existence of transvestitism at fifteen by stumbling across a newspaper article. It discussed transvestites and transsexuals and featured a photograph of the former Vogue model, actress and socialite April Ashley.

 

Born in Liverpool in 1935, April Ashley MBE was one of the first people in the world to undergo pioneering gender reassignment surgery. Her tireless campaigning for transgender equality has made her an icon and inspiration to many. Presenting her on this vase as a personal hero, Perry evokes the tradition of decorating domestic products to celebrate folk-heroes.

 

April Ashley’s life is currently the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool entitled April Ashley, Portrait of a Lady.

About the author


Furniture, Textiles & Fashion
November 17, 2014

I am an Assistant Curator working on the development of the new Europe 1600-1800 Galleries. My interests are wide-ranging but subjects I have particularly enjoyed exploring for this project include:...

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