Jason Wilsher-Mills’ hyper-joyful art set to brighten up winter at The Harley Gallery

Acclaimed digital artist Jason Wilsher-Mills will be showing an exhibition of his work, ‘Jason and the Argonauts’, at The Harley Gallery in Nottinghamshire this winter. The exhibition, on show 5 November – 15 January 2023, will include a huge inflatable sculpture, hyper-joyful person-sized characters, kaleidoscopic wallpaper and vibrant light-box art.

Jason Wilsher-Mills is an artist based in the East Midlands. His work details his life as a disabled person through theatrical self-portraits which reflect aspects of his personality, memory, illness and disability.

He has developed this body of work with communities around the UK, including Venture Arts in Manchester and groups in London, Lincolnshire and the West Midlands. The result is an exhibition that celebrates disabled communities, and tells their stories through art
which is tender, giddy, poignant and thought-provoking. At the centre of the exhibition lies a large-scale inflatable ‘Argonaut’. The surface of this sculpture is richly decorated with text and ‘tattoos’ which tell people’s stories from the Changing Places movement, a campaign calling for fully accessible toilets equipped with height adjustable changing benches, tracking hoists and space for two carers to be installed in all large public venues throughout the UK. The motifs on this artwork also give personal reflections about the care that Jason’s mum gave him when he became disabled as a teenager. This Argonaut inflatable is accompanied by Jason’s vibrant, hyper-joyful fibreglass sculptures, including the Elvis-like ‘Corby Rocker’ and endearing ‘Corby Princess’. Lisa Gee, Director of The Harley Gallery and Foundation, said
“It’s great to have Jason’s art on display at The Harley Gallery, after a hugely busy time which has seen him showing at The Commonwealth Games, and the Folkestone Triennial. The experience of being in one of Jason’s installations is just so much fun. The colour and pattern and comic book imagery quite disarms you but Jason powerfully makes his point and really does get you to see the world through other eyes. The connection he creates is joyful.”

– ‘Jason and his Argonauts’ by Jason Wilsher-Mills is on show at The Harley Gallery,
Nottinghamshire form 5 November until 15 January 2023.
– The exhibition is free to enter and there is a large, free car park.
– The Harley Gallery and Foundation is on the Welbeck estate, on the A60 south of Worksop. It
is 15 minutes from both the A1 and M1.
– A 20-21 Visual Arts Centre touring exhibition with funding by Arts Council England.

Posted on 30 September 2022

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