Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences @ Manchester Art Gallery, until 2 Feb

Review by Emma Sumner | 14 Jan 2014

Why do we make the aesthetic choices we do? What influences where we choose to live, what we eat, what we read or wear? In 2012, artist Grayson Perry embarked on a three-part documentary series, All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry, with the purpose of finding out. The result? A series of six monumental tapestries titled The Vanity of Small Differences.

A great chronicler of contemporary life, Perry undertook actual fieldwork during his research for the tapestries, experiencing the daily lives of a selection of people he felt typified the British social classes today. What Perry discovered is how, even though factors like age, race, religion or sexuality play a part, social class still heavily influences our aesthetic taste today. Built around the central character of Tim Rakewell, a self-made millionaire who climbs the social ladder of British society, the tapestries' narrative also notes our destructive human tendency to focus on our differences rather than similarities.

Manchester Art Gallery is the second venue outside London to display the tapestries, which are currently on a UK tour. Keen to reveal more about the research and making process, exhibition curator Ruth Shrigley has sourced additional display material including photographs of Perry’s sketch book and a full set of William Hogarth’s prints for A Rake’s Progress (Perry’s central character Tim Rakewell is based on Hogarth’s Tom Rakewell), providing further context to the thought process and symbolism within these intricate works.

The aim of these colourful, almost cartoon-like friezes seems to be to engage and spark debate in audiences of all ages. A unique and sensitive social commentary, the tapestries explore what it is that defines and influences working-, middle- and upper-class taste in Britain today. By poking fun at us ‘Brits’, Perry has produced a humorous and important documentation of society today. [Emma Sumner]

Mon-Sun 10am-5pm, Thu until 9pm http://www.manchestergalleries.org