Gillian Wearing
We Are Here
The New Art Gallery Walsall is delighted to present a new single-screen video work by British artist Gillian Wearing.
Wearing is known for her films and photographs, which explore our public personas and private lives. We Are Here sees the artist return to the area in and around Sandwell where she grew up and features people from the West Midlands region speaking various monologues as if from the grave. The concept for We Are Here is taken from American poet Edgar Lee Masters’ book Spoon River Anthology (1915), where residents rise up from the grave to talk about their lives, losses, regrets and memories of Spoon River that ran close to the poet’s home town.
Gillian Wearing has shown extensively in the UK and across the world. In 2007 the artist was made a Royal Academician and in 2011 she was honoured with an OBE. Wearing won the Turner Prize in 1997.
We Are Here is a new acquisition presented by the artist to The New Art Gallery Walsall with assistance from Outset Contemporary Art Fund and the Art Fund. With additional support from the artist, Maureen Paley, Shaun Regen and Tanya Bonakdar.
We Are Here will show at Maureen Paley, London from 13 October – 16 November 2014.
Presented by the artist to The New Art Gallery Walsall with support from Outset Contemporary Art Fund and the Art Fund.
Image credit: Gillian Wearing, We Are Here (video still), 2014, colour video with sound, 21 minutues (c) Gillian Wearing, Courtesy Maureen Paley, London.
