See Grayson Perry's Who are You?

Always well behind the curve, it's taken your author a good few months to get round to seeing Grayson Perry's 'Who are You?' exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, but thankfully it's still not too late to write it up because there's still a month yet. For those who didn't see it on telly, the exhibition involves Perry exploring the modern British identity through portraits of famous and not-famous, with a bit of self-portrait thrown in for good measure.


Works are presented mostly on the first floor of the gallery, interspersed with the gallery's permanent collection, and it seems typically naughty to find Perry's works next to those of Royals, politicians and great scuptors. Each piece involves a different subject, examining modernity through people like disgraced former Cabinet Minister Chris Huhne - who is represented by a smashed vase covered in penises and number plates - an X-Factor contestant from Essex - who is represented in a minature as a modern Earl of Essex - and a young white Muslim convert called Kayleigh Khosravi - who is pictured on a silk screenprinted headscarf titled The Ashford Hijab. It's all brilliantly accessible, and done with Perry's usual humour, imagination and insight. And it's free.

For more, see http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/graysonperry/display.php